Local Health Visiting Nurse, Ashley Lawrence is honoured with prestigious Queen’s Nurse title.
Ashley Lawrence, Health Visiting Team Manager for East Lothian Health and Social Care Partnership has been awarded the prestigious title of Queen’s Nurse, a mark of excellence in community nursing across Scotland.
Ashley was one of 18 nurses from across Scotland who were awarded the title after completing a nine-month development programme run by the Queen’s Nursing Institute Scotland (QNIS). The Queen’s Nurse Award recognises exceptional community nurses who demonstrate leadership, innovation and a commitment to improving health equality.
Local to Musselburgh, Ashley went to Campie Primary, and Musselburgh Grammar before training and qualifying as a Children’s Health Nurse in 2014 where she worked at the Royal Hospital for Children and Young People. Developing her skills she then worked in the Neonatal Unit at the Edinburgh Royal Infirmary before going to Queen Margaret University to receive her Postgraduate degree in Health Visiting. After practicing for 5 years in Leith, Ashley joined the East Lothian team in 2022 as Health Visiting Team Lead.
Ashley was nominated for the Queens Nurse programme by senior colleagues, recognising her commitment, compassion and collaboration in delivering exceptional standards in community nursing care. An intense selection process took place before Ashley was accepted as one of the few nurses into the programme.
The 2025 cohort have been working on initiatives to support better outcomes for the people of Scotland across many fields/disciplines. Focussing on Health Visiting, Ashley’s project aims to help families encourage and support their infants to progress towards their 27-30 month development review. This is one of many reviews within the Universal Health Visiting pathway and assesses core development skills such as communication, fine and gross motor skills, problem solving and social interactions. The project brings together a team of multi-disciplinary services with health visiting such as speech and language therapy, and local third sector organisations including Families Together East Lothian.
Using modelling concepts and constructive play, the project is linked to achieving the Scottish Government’s target to reduce the proportion of children with a recorded developmental concern at the 27-30 month review by a quarter by 2030 (compared to the 2022/23 baseline). The initiative also supports two of East Lothian Integration Joint Board’s strategic objectives early intervention and prevention and reducing health inequalities. By empowering parents in their child’s development, the project further supports the aims of UNCRC, getting it right for every child.
Commenting on the experience, Ashley said, “I’m incredible honoured to have been given this opportunity. The last nine months have been a bit of a whirlwind, but completing this journey with like-minded people has really fuelled my passion further. Community nursing doesn’t always receive as big a profile as nursing in hospitals. However, we play a significant role in supporting people at home, maintaining their independence, and through health vising, supporting families with a wealth of complexities, which in this current climate, feels ever more challenging to navigate.”
“This has been an enlightening experience, that I’m forever grateful for. As nurses, we truly care about our clients, and as a team we collectively support people to achieve better outcomes. I love what I do and am incredibly proud of the Health Visiting team in East Lothian for the outstanding service they provide.”
Ashley now joins three other East Lothian Nurses with the prestigious Queens Nurse title; Community Learning Disability Nurse Team Leader Heather Duff, CWIC Clinical Nurse Manager Mags Morrow, and Director of Health and Care at Leuchie House Emma Jenson.