Specialist nurses from the Newcastle Hospitals were called up onto the stage to collect their ‘Winners Award’ at the British Journal of Nursing Awards 2023 ceremony held in London on Friday 24th March 2023.
The Newcastle Specialist Continence Team were named not only as overall ‘Gold’ winners for the Continence Nurse of the Year Award but also the ‘Silver’ winners.
The Gold Award was presented for their RIISE Project (Reducing and identifying infection using surveillance and education) and the Silver Award for their Bowel and Bladder Assessment Project.
Our Harm Free Nurse Specialists also won Bronze for the Infection Prevention Nurse of the Year Award for their multi-faceted, mobile education and quality improvement approaches across busy clinical areas as they supported their colleagues to keep abreast of important harm free care matters.
Of the Awards Amy Griffiths, Specialist Nurse for UTI/CAUTI Harm Free Care said: “I feel so honoured for the work of our team to be recognised in this way. There were so many inspirational finalists and to receive Gold, Silver and Bronze awards for the work we have achieved really makes me proud to be a nurse.
“I am so passionate about working for the Newcastle Hospitals and the standard of patient care that we deliver and it is such a honour for our team to be a driving force in achieving harm free care for our patients.”
Alyson Laws, Community Lead for the Newcastle Specialist Continence Service adds: “I am so happy that the Newcastle Specialist Continence Team has received this Award. We are a small team however having Amy and Sarah onboard we are perfectly formed as they have enabled us all to work to develop our service and expand our horizons to ensure our patients are offered gold standard care.
She adds “The trust and investment into our service by the senior leaders of the Trust has enable bladder and bowel care to flourish within Newcastle.”
Of their win Deputy Chief Nurse Ian Joy says “‘It is brilliant to see our team recognised for their outstanding work in the field of continence care.
“They are at the forefront of innovation and are implementing quality improvements in practice to ensure our patients not only receive the highest possible standard of care but also improve the evidence base to inform practice locally, regionally and nationally.’
This achievement by our continence care and infection prevention and control specialists very much reflects our NMAHPs Strategy priority “Improve quality and reduce patient harms“.
We are committed to ensuring our staff have the autonomy to influence decisions on how care is structured and delivered to create a culture of innovation, whilst continually striving to generate opportunities to improve clinical outcomes in a supportive culture.
Of winning Bronze for Infection Prevention Nurse of the Year Award Gill Lishman, Matron for Infection Prevention and Control says: “I am delighted that the work of both Pasqua and Amy has been recognised.
“The work of our Infection Prevention and Control and Harm Free Care initiatives is pivotal to improving patient care and their contribution to this has been immense.”
Celebrating nursing excellence
The British Journal of Nursing Awards are a showcase of nursing excellence, highlighting the critical contribution that nurses make to healthcare and represent a fantastic opportunity to gain the recognition that hard work and dedication so richly deserves.
Our Winners and Finalists have been recognised for their dedication towards ensuring that every patient we care for receives harm free care wherever possible, and in particular for their innovative approaches towards supporting colleagues working under pressure in one of the largest of most complex NHS organisations in England as they strive to provide safe, high quality care.
