There was plenty of Welsh talent and expertise at the RCN Nursing Awards ceremony, recognised in areas ranging from school nursing, virtual wards, nursing support workers, promoting inclusivity and diversity, emergency medicine, oncology and dementia care.
Christian Harris and Kirsten Jenkins, both health care support workers at Cwm Tag Morgannwg University Health Board, won the Nursing Support Worker award for their work in developing violence and aggression training.
They ensure all staff at Ty Llidiard, a child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS) inpatient unit, receive prevention and management of violence and aggression training. Christian and Kirsten were nominated by Head of Nursing, Lloyd Griffiths.
Category finalists from across Wales
Mental Health Nursing award: Claire Norman, Lead Nurse at the School In-reach Service, Swansea Bay University Health Board
Lead nurse Claire Norman had two days of clinical time to create a service supporting mental health in a pilot school. The success of this pilot led to expansion of the service to all primary schools in Swansea Bay.
Children have been able to access CAMHS more promptly, and school staff say they are more confident supporting young people with their mental health.
Nursing Older People award: Virtual Wards Team at Swansea Bay University Health Board
Covering a population of 500,000, the virtual wards team meets the needs of frail and older people in the community who need to be stabilised in their own homes.
Since its phased introduction in October 2021, the service has saved more than 21,000 bed days in admission avoidance or reduced hospital stay.
Nursing Support Worker award: Primary Care Mental Health Support Worker, Kayleigh Gregory, at Cwm Taf Morgannwg University Health Board
Kayleigh Gregory was nominated for her work in promoting inclusivity and diversity in training development. Specifically, Kayleigh identified courses that were particularly gendered and so developed gender-neutral material to improve awareness of bias and stereotyping.
Better understanding of pronouns and the impact of people’s diverse cultural beliefs was also reported.
Researcher of the Year award: Rob Fenwick, Emergency Medicine Consultant at Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board
Rob Fenwick was shortlisted for developing evidence-based guidance for the extrication of people trapped in their vehicles after accidents.
This research has been incorporated into national clinical and operational guidance, meaning that rescue times will be reduced, resources used more effectively and patient experience improved.
Team of the Year award: Acute Oncology Advanced Nurse Practitioner Team at Velindre University NHS Trust
Based in the acute oncology assessment unit, and working in partnership with oncology nurses, oncologists and allied health professionals, the team sees up to 160 patients per month, who require same-day emergency care.
Despite demand and complex needs increasing, figures consistently show that between 65% and 75% of patients are discharged on the same day.
Team of the Year award: Person-Centred Care Team at Aneurin Bevan University Health Board
The Patient Centred Care team, led by Amanda Whent, who you may recognise as the Care of the Older Person award winner in our very own RCN Wales Nurse of the Year awards, built a programme to tackle loneliness and boredom on dementia hospital wards.
Identifying a lack of awareness in person-centred dementia care, the team established meaningful activities and approaches. The pilot was so successful it has been rolled out to the 141 wards across Gwent’s hospital sites.
We’re sure you’ll join us in congratulating winners and finalists on their success and look forward to seeing where their talent and dedication takes them next.
You can find out more about the awards on the RCNi website.
