International Nurses Day 2025

Imagine being a parent of a child with a complex, lifelong condition - juggling endless hospital visits, managing medications, and living with the uncertainty about what is next for your child. Now imagine having a specialist nurse who knows your child’s condition inside and out - someone who can join you on the complex healthcare journey, answering your questions, joining you at appointments, and supporting you at home and in hospital. That’s what a Roald Dahl Nurse provides. This International Nurses Day we are celebrating Roald Dahl Nurses who provide specialist support for over 40,000 children and young people across the UK living with complex, lifelong conditions. These children are often under the care of multiple health professionals, and research has shown that specialist nursing care can improve patient experience of and confidence in their care and their health outcomes, as well as delivering significant emotional benefits to families. Specialist care from a Roald Dahl Nurse has also been shown to help reduce A&E visits, hospital admissions, and consultant appointments. Although there are currently over 200 Roald Dahl Nurses supporting children across the UK, there are still too many children living without this vital care.  

Meet Ada Ada, a happy, smiley toddler, was recently diagnosed with a genetic condition which affects her airways, Bronchomalacia (a problem with the cartilage in her lungs impacting on breathing), Pierre Robin (a rare birth defect characterized by an underdeveloped jaw, and a backward displacement of the tongue and upper airway obstruction), and displaced hips. Their Roald Dahl Nurse, Scott, coordinates the 14 specialists involved in Ada’s care and provides emotional and practical support for the whole family, Scott is always on hand to answer any questions or concerns. Ada’s Mum Joanne says, "By the second time we met him we knew he was the best person to have in our corner. All the nurses and doctors are wonderful, but we were still trying to figure out how everything works, and what Ada needed and what we needed to do to help her. We had so many things to check and follow up on, so many different elements of care. It just felt so much, and to have this Roald Dahl Nurse take over and co-ordinate everything was just so amazing. We felt we could ask him anything. Talk to him about anything.” 

Roald Dahl Nurses Conference 2025 Roald Dahl Nurses will gather in Birmingham on International Nurses Day ahead of Roald Dahl’s Marvellous Children’s Charity’s national conference which will shine a spotlight on new approaches and innovations which are challenging and changing inequalities in paediatric care. This year’s conference is themed on health inequalities faced by children with complex medical conditions. Find out more about the conference here.

We believe every seriously ill child deserves a Roald Dahl Nurse. This International Nurses Day, your support can help fund more Roald Dahl Nurses, so more children like Ada receive the specialist care they urgently need. If you can, donate now or find out more about our work today. £30 could provide an hour of specialist care for a child with a complex condition. Donate Today