MORE than 30 nurses in the region have been selected for a national pilot scheme which should help to improve training for accident and emergency staff.

Inconsistencies in the way casualty nurses are trained up and down the country have prompted the Royal College of Nursing to draw up new national standards.

The North-East will be one of only two centres in England to take part in the pilot programme.

Nurses based at Dryburn Hospital, Durham, Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Gateshead, and Sunderland Royal Hospital, will follow the new guidelines developed by the RCN's A & E Nursing Association in the past two years.

A joint bid from the three North-East hospitals, along with a hospital in the London area, was selected from 33 sites around the country.

Margaret Best, director of nursing at Dryburn Hospital, said: "This is an exciting opportunity, not only to raise the profile of the accident and emergency department regionally and nationally, but to contribute to the development of A & E nurse education at a national level."

A dozen nurses from each North-East hospital will take part in the year-long pilot.

Julie Carr, a senior clinical nurse at Dryburn's A & E department, said: "This really puts the North-East on the map. It is a brilliant opportunity to be involved in something which will influence the future training of A & E nurses."

Members of the public visiting casualty units will not notice any difference, but at the end of the pilot scheme it is hoped that the lessons learned can become part of national training programme.

"There are differences in how nurses are trained up and down the country. This is a chance to ensure that every A & E nurse learns the skills that are needed," she added.

Sister Sheila Kitson from Dryburn, has been appointed as project facilitator to work across all three hospitals.