Leanne Howlett, from Coventry University, was announced winner of the Nursing Student category of the RCN Nursing Awards 2023 at a ceremony at Liverpool Cathedral.
During a placement at Coventry and Warwickshire Partnership NHS Trust, Ms Howlett identified how daunting it can be for young people being discharged from mental health services. She saw how they could feel a sense of loss and increased anxiety after having been supported by the service.
In response, Ms Howlett developed a Discharge Wellbeing Pack to reassure and support young people to reflect on their recovery and all that they had learned. The resource she created has been ratified by professional nursing forums, and will now be rolled out across the service. Young people who have received the pack have reported how it has improved their discharge experience, helping them to reframe it as something positive.
Ms Howlett said: ‘By empowering young people upon discharge, encouraging them to think about the things that keep them well and early warning signs of relapse, their health outcomes will improve. Keeping them well long-term will hopefully reduce the chances of readmission into the service in the future.
'Incredibly proud'
‘I feel incredibly proud to win an RCN Nursing Award. I gave up my previous career to be a nurse because I wanted to make a difference to people experiencing mental health difficulties in the way that someone once made a difference to me when I was unwell. I hope winning this award will inspire other students to believe that they can go out on placement and make a real difference to patients, the team and the way that things are done.’
Leena Vinod, Senior Lecturer at Edge Hill University, who was on the judging panel, said: 'All our finalists in the Nursing Student category were impressive but Leanne’s leadership really stood out. She identified a problem and developed a solution, working with young people to ensure that the pack really met their needs. Her change initiative has been embraced by her workplace and is being rolled out widely to improve services. We are sure Leanne has a fantastic future ahead of her in nursing.’
Leanne is pictured receiving her award from Sue Tranka, Chief Nursing Officer for Wales (left) and TV presenter Julia Bradbury. Photo by: johnhoulihan.com
