Community nursing leaders recognised at QNI awards
Posted 31 October 2017 - 12:42
An ‘icon’ of the nursing world has been made a fellow of the Queen’s Nursing Institute (QNI) at its annual awards evening.
Dame Elizabeth Anionwu said she felt ‘deeply privileged’ to be be honoured by the QNI as it celebrates the 130th anniversary of its founding.
Nurse pioneer
At the event in London on 30 October, QNI council chair Kate Billingham said: ‘Elizabeth began her nursing career at a very young age after being inspired by a nun who cared for her eczema, and from these beginnings she developed as a nurse pioneer and is now an icon in the nursing world.’
Professor Anionwu created the UK’s first sickle cell and thalassaemia screening and couselling centre in Brent in 1979 and later founded the Mary Seacole Centre for Nursing Practice at University of West London.
Also made fellows were:
- Public Health England’s deputy chief nurse Joanne Bosanquet, a Queen’s Nurse who promotes nursing and midwifery within the context of sustainable communities, and mentors nurses to enhance leadership skills.
- Care Quality Commission (CQC) nurse lead Ursula Gallagher. As well as her high-profile CQC work, Professor Gallagher continues to see patients each month as a nurse practitioner.
A further five nurses received the Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother Award for Outstanding Service:
- North East London NHS Foundation Trust district nurse team leader Liz Alderton, who promotes district nursing and end of life care in care homes.
- Rotherham NHS Foundation Trust respiratory nurse consultant Gail Miles, who set up the BreathingSpace service in Rotherham ten years ago to care for patients with respiratory disease.
- Sussex Community NHS Foundation Trust community children’s nurse Christine Morris, who created and developed a children and young people’s community nursing team and a round-the-clock on-call facility.
- QNI director of programmes Anne Elizabeth Pearson, the first person to receive this award while working directly for the charity. She has supported more than 250 front-line nurses to deliver and develop innovation projects.
- Aneurin Bevan University Health Board divisional nurse Tanya Strange, who has developed community services for patients and carers.
Student prize
Emma Leese from Southampton University was chosen to receive the Philip Goodeve-Docker Memorial Prize for district nursing students on behalf of all the winners of the award, which is presented at 28 universities offering district nurse programmes.
Named for the events organiser who died after becoming trapped in a polar ice storm while trekking across Greenland to raise funds for the QNI in 2013, the award was presented by Mr Goodeve-Docker’s father Nigel.
A new award for 2017, the Dora Roylance Memorial Prize for health visiting students, was named in honour of Queen’s Nurse Ms Roylance, who died in 2016 aged 100. Some 22 universities in England, Wales and Northern Ireland present the award at graduation ceremonies, and Laura Scott from London Southbank University was chosen to represent all the winners.
Certificates and badges were also presented to 119 newly qualified Queen’s Nurses by chief nursing officer for Wales Jean White. Queen’s Nurses have grown in number to more than 1,200 since the title was reintroduced 10 years ago.
Professor White told the winners: ‘Make sure your voice is heard, have your say about what goes on in your service and what could be done better.’
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