THE Western Health and Social Care Trust (Western Trust) is celebrating success at the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) Northern Ireland Awards 2025, held at the Culloden Hotel, Holywood, recently.<\/p>\n
Jacqui Lundy, community children\u2019s nurse, was winner of the Patient Choice Award sponsored by the Patient and Client Council.<\/p>\n
Jacqui was nominated by the parents of a girl who was diagnosed at birth with complex needs. They describe Jacqui as \u201can absolute warrior and the light of our lives\u201d.<\/p>\n
From the beginning, the family has been supported by a team of dedicated health professionals, including specialists from the local area, as well as from Belfast and London.<\/p>\n
They\u00a0explained that Jacqui is the one person who has truly stood out and made a lasting impact on the family. Her role extends far beyond providing nursing care and she is the cornerstone of the girl\u2019s support system, with Jacqui being the first point of contact for advice.<\/p>\n
The parents explained how Jacqui seamlessly co-ordinates all aspects of their daughter\u2019s care, ensuring that she receives the best possible support.<\/p>\n
The judging panel commended Jacqui\u2019s patient advocacy skills and her high standard of care.<\/p>\n
Jonah Atos, international nurse co-ordinator, was runner-up in the Directors of Nursing Award, sponsored by Belfast, Northern, South Eastern, Southern and Western HSC Trusts.<\/p>\n
Jonah\u2019s dedication to inclusivity is renowned throughout the Trust, maximising opportunities to support internationally educated employees (IEN).<\/p>\n
She\u00a0joined the Trust as a band five nurse in 2002 and, through her determination and continued professional development, progressed to a leadership role.<\/p>\n
As an internationally educated nurse, Jonah understands the impact of leaving family to work in Northern Ireland. She supports IENs throughout their journey from pastoral care to registration with the Nursing and Midwifery Council, the Trust maintaining a 100 per cent\u00a0pass rate in large part due to Jonah\u2019s dedication and support.<\/p>\n
Her mission is to promote the integration of IENs within the workforce and community life.<\/p>\n
She engages with ward teams to help them understand different cultures and traditions, hosting social events showcasing their national outfits, traditional dances, languages and food.<\/p>\n
The judging panel described Jonah as \u201can inspirational leader\u201d and \u201ca breath of fresh air\u201d, adding that \u201cshe is motivating and enthusiastic\u201d.<\/p>\n
Elsewhere, Linda Britton Reid<\/b> was runner-up in the Health Care Support Worker award, sponsored by Healthcare Ireland.<\/p>\n
Linda works in the Sperrin Suite within the North West Cancer Centre.<\/p>\n
Whilst working in the medical ward, Linda often cared for patients who received a cancer diagnosis during their in-patient stay.<\/p>\n
She provided support and a comforting ear, but felt ill-informed about what lay ahead for the patients following discharge.<\/p>\n
Linda believed, as a senior nursing assistant, that there was more she could offer patients and families following this life-changing diagnosis. She therefore seized the opportunity in 2018 to transfer to the Sperrin Suite.<\/p>\n
She embraced her new role with commitment, dedication and enthusiasm.<\/p>\n
Her nominator praises the emotional maturity that enables Linda quickly to ascertain the needs of patients and how to respond.<\/p>\n
She prides herself on providing high standards of care.<\/p>\n
The judging panel noted Linda\u2019s ability to communicate clearly with patients and family members, as well as the pride she takes in her role.<\/p>\n
Health visitor, Ashley Ferguson<\/b>, was joint runner-up of the Public Health Award, sponsored by the Public Health Agency.<\/p>\n
Ashley qualified as a midwife in 2016 and, with a passion for supporting breastfeeding, became a lactation consultant. When she subsequently qualified as a health visitor, her skills, knowledge and experience became invaluable.<\/p>\n
She found that a high percentage of mothers stop breastfeeding between discharge and the new birth visit between days 10-14.<\/p>\n
Feedback from breastfeeding mothers and community groups highlighted the need for additional support during this period.<\/p>\n
Ashley initiated a quality improvement project to increase the rate of breastfeeding at the new birth visit.<\/p>\n
Ashley encourages women to attend a breastfeeding group she facilitates in partnership with Waterside Sure Start, and attendances have notably increased.<\/p>\n
Since January 2024, breastfeeding rates at the new birth visit have improved, with uptake expected to increase further.<\/p>\n
With the assistance of a child health assistant and in collaboration with the Minding Mum group, Ashley organised a quarterly programme of evening antenatal sessions for mothers and fathers. This has successfully promoted knowledge and confidence in breastfeeding.<\/p>\n
The judging panel noted Ashley\u2019s passion for promoting equal access to information and support, and her achievements in identifying and addressing gaps in service provision.<\/p>\n
Finally, Karen Harper and Helen McCormick<\/b>, clinical nurse specialists for lung cancer, were runners-up in the Cancer Nurse Award, sponsored by Macmillan Cancer Support.<\/p>\n
The pir\u00a0support patients from a diagnosis of lung cancer through to treatment and follow-up. Holistic needs assessment (HNA)\u00a0is a process focusing on listening to the patient and improving health outcomes through the development of a personalised care and support plan.<\/p>\n
It explores patients\u2019 concerns and unmet need in order to develop, in partnership, a management plan.<\/p>\n
Although the regional cancer strategy specifies that an HNA should be offered to every person diagnosed with cancer, this standard was not always met.<\/p>\n
Karen and Helen were determined to change this and they established an HNA clinic which patients can access.<\/p>\n
The benefits to patients cannot be over-estimated.<\/p>\n
The clinic enables Karen and Helen to explore and consider possible interventions with the patient and then reach an agreed decision.<\/p>\n
Patient feedback includes acknowledgement of their \u201ccompassionate, caring and kind\u201d approach and how \u201cthey provide excellent care and support for both me and my family\u201d.<\/p>\n
The judging panel recognised how the clinic has been transformational for patients and that it would not have happened without the vision and dedication of Karen and Helen.<\/p>\n
Speaking about the Western Trust\u2019s success at the 2025 RCN NI Nurse of the Year Awards, director of Nursing, Midwifery and AHPs and Executive Director of Nursing, Donna Keenan, said: \u201cI am delighted for Jacqui, Karen, Helen, Jonah, Linda and Ashley for their well-deserved recognition in this year\u2019s RCN NI Nurse of the Year Awards.<\/p>\n
“They are all exceptional nurses who are passionate about delivering the highest quality of care for their patients.<\/p>\n
“We are immensely proud of our incredible nursing teams across the Western Trust and we are very fortunate to have them recognised for their leadership, development, research and improvement of services for our patients and their families who require care and treatment in our hospitals and community.<\/p>\n
“We in the Western Trust are immensely proud of you all on receiving this richly deserved recognition.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThank you for your continued dedication and innovation to improving patient care. Well done.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"THE Western Health and Social Care Trust (Western Trust) is celebrating success at the Royal College of Nursing…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":209956,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5011],"tags":[1144,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-209955","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-northern-ireland","8":"tag-northern-ireland","9":"tag-uk","10":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/114737511549857280","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/209955","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=209955"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/209955\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/209956"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=209955"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=209955"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=209955"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}