Engaging people according to their needs is key to the success of RCNi award winner Steven Evans-Jones

A nurse who has helped alleviate the misery of incontinence for hundreds of patients through her bowel function service won a top accolade at the RCNi Nurse Awards last week.

Venetia Wynter-Blyth is the RCN Nurse of the Year for 2016. The clinical nurse specialist won the prestigious prize for her work in providing structured support to cancer patients who are facing major surgery. Judge Amanda Burston, who won last year’s award, describes Venetia’s programme as outstanding and powerful.

A nurse-led service created by pleural nurse specialist Elaine Reid is transforming care for patients with pleural effusion at Addenbrooke’s Hospital in Cambridge. The service saw Ms Reid named runner up in the TEVA Innovations in Respiratory Nursing category at the Nursing Standard Nurse of the Year Awards 2015.

A pioneering Royal Marsden therapy service supports individuals and couples experiencing the sexual consequences of cancer and its treatment. Founder Isabel White was runner-up in the cancer nursing category of the 2015 Nursing Standard awards.

The winner of a prestigious award in which patients nominate a nurse whose care has had an enormous impact on their lives will be decided by a public vote that opened this week.

Mental health nurse Pride Gaka-Chisoro’s award-winning research into soldiers’ experience of genital trauma led to a pathway that ensures the psychological toll is not overlooked. The pathway includes sperm salvage and psychosexual assessment. Sgt Gaka-Chisoro won a 2015 Nursing Standard Nurse Award.

Jane Murphy is nurse lead for Operation Emblem, in which mental health nurses work with police to reduce arrests of people in crisis. The project has improved police understanding of mental health and access to care. Ms Murphy was runner-up in the 2015 Nursing Standard Nurse Awards mental health category.

A pioneering tuberculosis contact tracing project is combating the high number of cases of TB in the capital. By adopting a pan-London approach and taking contact tracing out into the community, the London TB Extended Contact Tracing Team (LTBEx) has significantly increased the number of identified cases.

A nurse-led ward at Yeovil District Hospital NHS Foundation Trust has supported patients who are ready for discharge but cannot be found community places. Work on the ward is rewarding and eases pressure elsewhere in the trust. The iCare team was recognised in this year’s Nursing Standard Nurse Awards and named runner-up in the Enhancing the Experience of Care category.

Management of severely injured patients is complex and requires organised, expert care. Regionalised trauma systems are relatively new in the UK and aim to deliver optimal, timely care to injured patients at the most appropriate location. This article discusses the drivers, organisation, processes and outcomes of regionalised trauma care. It also describes the challenges and benefits of working within a trauma system to enable emergency practitioners to reflect on their roles in contemporary trauma care.

Transforming the way services are run takes time and requires engagement at all levels. But with commitment, hard work and close consultation with others including patient groups, a nursing team in Northern Ireland has brought rapid improvement to cancer care. The team, led by nurse consultant Mary-Jo Thompson, won the Cancer Nursing category in this year’s Nursing Standard Nurse Awards.