The Roald Dahl Foundation

The Roald Dahl Foundation is proud of its strong record in funding crucial nursing posts in the areas of epilepsy, acquired brain injury, and haematology throughout the UK. In each case, we have covered the post's costs for the first year or two, the expectation being that the NHS Trust continues its funding once the need for the post has been established. This has proved to be a very successful scheme - and so far the Foundation has supported 46 nursing posts across the UK.

If you are interested in discussing how the Foundation might support a new specialist nurse post within your hospital, trust or charity, please contact the Foundation's Grants Director.

‘Thanks for being my lifeline' – from a young patient of the Roald Dahl Epilepsy Nurse in Leeds.

Roald Dahl nurses are often lifelines to their young patients, and their families. At the present time there are 46 Roald Dahl nurses throughout the UK caring for children and young people with epilepsy, acquired brain injury or blood disorders.

The first ever Roald Dahl nurse funded was a paediatric epilepsy nurse specialist at the Royal Liverpool Children's Hospital, Alder Hey in 1993. Since then we have funded a further 31 paediatric epilepsy nurse specialist posts from Inverness to Portsmouth. New Roald Dahl nursing posts have been agreed for Waltham Forest (epilepsy), Bradford (haematology) and two posts in London (sickle cell disease and thalassaemia).

The Foundation funded the first Roald Dahl Paediatric Neurology Nurses, working with children and young people with acquired brain injury in Glasgow and Newcastle in 1995. since then 6 more head injury nurse specialists have been funded in Southampton, London, Haywards Heath and Dorset.

In 1994 the Foundation funded a Roald Dahl bone marrow transplant coordinator at Royal Manchester Children's Hospital, and a paediatric haematology sister at Southampton General Hospital. In 2000 the first Roald Dahl paediatric home care nurse for children with sickle cell disease was appointed at the North Middlesex Hospital in London. A Roald Dahl Haemoglobinopathy Nurse Specialist was funded at St Mary's Hospital in London in 2003 and there are plans to fund further Haemoglobinopathy nurse specialist posts in the near future.

Recent Developments:
In the past 12 months appointments have been made to new Roald Dahl nurse posts at the Whittington Hospital in London (caring for children with sickle cell anaemia and Thalassaemia), Bradford Royal Infirmary (caring for children with haematological conditions including haemophilia and Thalassaemia), and Sherwood Forest Hospital in Nottinghamshire and Basildon Hospital in Essex (caring for children and young people with epilepsy).