Watch the video to find out who has won this prestigious nursing award. Good luck to all the finalists!
The finalists for the Advanced Nursing Practice Award
Helen Bishton
Spectrum Community Health Community Interest Company
As the first advanced nurse practitioner in Lancaster Farms prison, Helen Bishton has improved complex care in this challenging environment. She understands the men’s health needs and behaviours, and works one-to-one to help them appreciate the risks surrounding traded drugs, understand changes that affect them and de-escalate potential confrontations. Access to healthcare has improved with average waiting times for GP appointments down from 5.5 to 2.5 weeks. Patients now have a central nurse contact who manages their care from triage to assessment, diagnosis and review. The supervision and training Ms Bishton gives to upskill the wider nursing team has meant fewer prisoners have to travel with an escort to hospitals or clinics for care.
Helen Francis and Julie Boulton
University Hospitals of North Midlands NHS Trust
The advanced nurse practitioner team at the breast unit at Royal Stoke University Hospital has transformed the experience of cancer survivors by devising and implementing a new self-managed pathway. Instead of attending a follow-up meeting every 6-12 months, patients are supported and empowered to manage their own recovery and live well without needing to come to hospital. At the end of their treatment, they receive a holistic needs assessment and advice. Patients value the personalised and comprehensive follow-up and are reassured by swift access to telephone clinics. This success has seen the project taken up by other cancer teams at the trust.
Colm Darby and Vincent McLarnon
Southern Health and Social Care Trust
These advanced nurse practitioners are working to improve the uptake of vaccinations by identifying ‘pro-vac champions’ in Northern Ireland and the UK. They train the champions to have positive and informed conversations with families who are unsure about vaccinations. The multidisciplinary movement has a two-pronged approach. There are antenatal clinics for vaccine-hesitant mothers who have concerns about toxins, pain and side-effects. There are also bespoke information sessions on vaccine safety and having conversations with vaccine-hesitant parents for healthcare professionals in primary care, secondary care and for nursing and medical students. Healthcare professionals and families taking part in the sessions report a significant increase in knowledge and confidence about vaccination.
Advanced Care Academy team
NHS Grampian
Alison Moggarch, Karen Kindness and Rachel Taylor lead the Advanced Care Academy, which employs 12 master’s-level fellows to provide instant peer support and mentoring for trainee and current advanced practitioners in nursing, midwifery and allied health professions. Feedback from the health and social care partnership, GPs and trainees has been extremely positive and patients are now cared for by knowledgeable, experienced and compassionate advanced practitioners in a wide range of sectors including urgent care, primary care, out-of-hours care, the acute sector, district nursing, and prison and custody care.
Rosa Ungpakorn
Central London Community Healthcare NHS Trust
Rosa Ungpakorn’s research has involved designing and leading the Westminster street nurse project, delivering on-the-spot advanced nursing care – clinical assessments, diagnosis and treatment – directly to the most vulnerable homeless people. Street outreach had been limited to signposting but now nurses assess a range of issues including infections, musculoskeletal pain, respiratory issues and parasitic infestations. They prescribe medication and basic wound care as well as referrals to mental health, midwifery, safeguarding and substance misuse services. Despite having no additional funding, the project has seen a 400% increase in the number of patients seen on street outreach, 80% of whom had not been accessing in-reach services.
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