Advanced practice courses in children's nursing are booming but budget cuts could threaten their future

London South Bank University's RCN-accredited advanced nurse practitioner course has seen numbers nearly double over the past three years and many predict a role for community nurses in light of the lack of child health-trained professionals in general practice. Places could be threatened by imminent funding cuts although a scheme by some NHS trusts to offer advanced clinical practice as an apprenticeship could be the answer.