HRH The Prince of Wales visits St Mary’s Hospital to meet nursing awards finalists
His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales visited St Mary’s Hospital in Paddington today, 26 October, to meet four nurses from the Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust who have been shortlisted for the Nursing Times Awards 2016.
The Prince met the shortlisted nurses, as well as other nursing staff and patients as he toured two wards: Charles Pannett, which specialises in caring for patients with bowel and upper gastro-intestinal conditions including cancer, and the intensive care unit which looks after the most seriously ill patients. His Royal Highness also received a demonstration of a new app developed by nurses at the Trust to help prevent pressure ulcers.
The annual Nursing Times Awards are a celebration of excellence in nursing and patient care. They recognise the innovations that are shaping and improving nurse-led care in the NHS.
The Trust’s shortlisted nominees who met The Prince were:
- Abby Harper-Payne – nominated for a Rising Star Award. Abby works as a clinical research nurse for neurosurgery, emergency and trauma. She was nominated by colleagues for her commitment, leadership and the guidance she has given to others, helping them to become better healthcare professionals.
- Becky Johl – nominated for Cancer Nursing Award. Becky and her team run a unique, nurse led chemotherapy service which provides a holistic care assessment focused on meeting the psychological and emotional needs of cancer patients plus an individualised assessment of the patient’s side effects.
- Dionne Levy – nominated for a Rising Star Award. Dionne is a specialist mental health midwife. She was nominated by colleagues for her commitment to improving the care of pregnant women and new mums with mental health problems at a crucial time in their life, helping to give their children the best start.
- Louise Savine & the tissue viability team – nominated for Technology and Data in Nursing Award. The team has developed an app to allow nurses to record and share vital real time data about pressure ulcers enabling better management and prevention. The app has contributed to a 37 per cent reduction in pressure damage amongst Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust patients in 2015/16.
Professor Janice Sigsworth, Director of Nursing, said:
“It was an honour to welcome The Prince of Wales to St Mary’s today and to introduce him to some of our outstanding nursing staff. His Royal Highness has been a big supporter of the nursing profession for many years and it was a pleasure to be able to showcase the work our nurses are doing to ensure the highest levels of patient care.”
The winners of the 2016 Nursing Times Awards will be announced at a ceremony on 26 October at the Grosvenor House Hotel, Park Lane, London.
Notes to editors
1. There are some 4,300 nurses and midwives across the Trust. The Trust is a major provider of education and training for doctors, nurses, midwives and allied health professionals. Around 500 student nurses and midwives are in training with the Trust each year, many of whom gain their first job or qualification with the Trust.
2. The app was developed by specialist tissue viability nurses and the intelligence business unit based at St Mary’s Hospital. Using data from the Trust incident reporting system the app is updated on an hourly basis giving real time data in relation to the number of pressure ulcers. This data has led to trends being identified and in collaboration with The Royal College of Arts and Imperial College a research venture has begun in the prevention of pressure ulcers.
