QNI awards title of ‘Queen's Nurse’ to five CLCH staff
Central London Community Healthcare NHS Trust (CLCH) is delighted to announce that five staff across the Trust have received The Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother Award for Outstanding Service. Also known as the ‘Queen's Nurse’ award, it is awarded by the Queen’s Nursing Institute (QNI) which is a charity that works to improve the nursing care of people in their own homes in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland.
The award is given to community nurses who provide exceptional care to their patients and demonstrate a continuing passion and enthusiasm for nursing. It is an acknowledgement of the commitment made and work undertaken to ensure the very best provision of care is achieved for communities and patients. The five CLCH staff who received the award this year are:
- Susan Murray, Tissue Viability Clinical Lead, North Central Division
- Rosie Waskett, Divisional Director of Nursing and Therapies, South West Division
- Sarah Smith, Practice Educator for Apprentice Nursing Associates, Quality and Learning Division
- Elizabeth Richardson, Community Palliative Care Clinical Nurse Specialist, Hertfordshire Division
- Katie Baron, Rapid Response Senior Nurse, Hertfordshire Division
This award is not a reward for length of service, but an acknowledgment that a nurse makes a very exceptional individual contribution to patient care and the nursing profession. Criteria include:
- Ability to demonstrate a continuing commitment to the principles of excellent nursing care to the benefit of patients
- Ability to demonstrate an outstanding contribution to both patients and the profession over and above the normal call of duty.
- A minimum of 10 years’ service in community nursing
In response to this news, CLCH Chief Nurse Charlie Sheldon said, ‘This award is a fantastic achievement by five of our outstanding staff. I am incredibly proud of Rosie, Susan, Sarah, Elizabeth and Katie and they should also be proud of themselves! We have amazing nurses all across CLCH, but it is always great when their dedicated service and contributions are officially recognised, particularly with such a prestigious award as this one. Congratulations to all of you and thank you for your exceptional service to our patients.’
Please read on to hear briefly from each of our Queen's Nurse awardees.
‘I am proud and humbled to have been awarded this title. Having worked in the community setting for many years, I have been honoured to be invited into patients’ homes and have been humbled by the gratitude and kindness that they and their families have shown me. The Queen's Nurse award will enable me to have the opportunity to become part of the Queen's Nurse community to further develop and promote high quality care for the patients that we care for.
‘I am excited to be able to network within this community and be part of an energetic and innovative group of like-minded colleagues to share learning and have rich meaningful discussions and contribute to an effective network. It will also enable me to share my knowledge and influence my peers to promote quality, productivity and efficiency.’ - Susan Murray, Tissue Viability Clinical Lead, North Central Division
‘I am delighted and honoured to now be able to use the title of ‘Queen's Nurse’. In February 2022, it will be 50 years since I joined the NHS as a student nurse on the fast-track programme at Westminster Hospital. As Westminster nurses, we were grateful for the fantastic training that the school of nursing and hospital delivered. From acute care, I went on to train as a health visitor and midwife. I spent many years at Queen Charlotte’s hospital working both within the hospital and in the community. I finished my time at Queen Charlotte’s as a research midwifery sister and moved back out into the community where I have remained.
‘Being a member of the QNI will allow me to promote the excellent work of our community nurses and support campaigns to improve learning opportunities, research, and sharing of innovation and best practice.’ - Rosie Waskett, Divisional Director of Nursing and Therapies, South West Division
‘I am immensely proud of my achievement and of the recognition of my commitment to excellent patient care, education and team working. Receiving the award has been the ultimate goal of my nursing career. I would not have reached this without the support of my present line manager, palliative care Doctors, and great team that I work with who have supported me throughout my application.
‘I have seen many changes throughout my time with the NHS and I feel privileged to have worked with many inspiring nurses, managers, medical staff, and teams during my nursing career. I have had the pleasure of meeting and caring for many incredible patients, families, and carers; all have had amazing stories to tell and share. I am proud to represent CLCH and hope I will inspire others to strive to reach their own goals.’ - Elizabeth Richardson, Community Palliative Care Clinical Nurse Specialist, Hertfordshire Division
‘After an extensive career working in District Nursing, Sarah Smith [Practice Educator for Apprentice Nursing Associates, Quality and Learning Division] is now working as a practice educator and shares her knowledge and experience with others. This includes those on the Nursing Associate and Registered Nurse apprenticeships and others on the District Nursing course and she shows a keen commitment to supporting them to progress in their nursing careers.
She was also instrumental in establishing development portfolios to help nurse’s consulate and build confidence in their new roles. All of her colleagues in the academy are pleased that her work has been recognised with the awarding of the Queen’s Nurse Award.’ - Karen Evans, CLCH Academy Lead Clinical and Professional Education
The QNI Awards took place on Monday 13th December 2021 online, you can see a full list of awardees and read more here.
