The Queen’s Nursing Institute (QNI) has been confirmed by the Guinness World Records as the oldest nursing charity in the world.
The community nursing charity, which was founded in 1887, was presented with a certificate from the Guinness World Records earlier this September after a nine-month application process. 
Commenting on the charity’s history, Dr Crystal Oldman, the QNI’s chief executive, said: ‘132 years ago, William Rathbone and Florence Nightingale determined that nurses who worked in homes and communities require specialist education and training to do their work; to work autonomously and to manage the risk for both themselves as Queen’s nurses and the communities that they served.
‘The first school of QNI nursing opened in 1887 in Liverpool and we’re still here today, as a charity, supporting the same mission for best care in the community.’
The QNI supports community nurses through its national network of Queen’s Nurses, who are committed to the highest standards of care, and funds nurses’ own ideas to improve patient care.
It offers educational grants to enhance nurses’ clinical knowledge and works with community nurses in times of financial need or life crisis.
It also publishes research into nursing practice, workforce and education, and works and campaigns to influence government, policy makers and employers.
