Outstanding community nurses celebrated at QICN awards ceremony
The Queen’s Institute of Community Nursing (QICN) held its annual awards ceremonies on last year at the Millennium Gloucester Hotel in London.
Bringing together more than 500 community nurses, the day consisted of two ceremonies – an afternoon and an evening session – highlighting the exceptional work of community nurses across nursing services, education, innovation and leadership, and the vital role they play in the healthcare system.
Presentations were made by Michelle Bateman QN, Deputy Chief Nursing Officer for England, Professor John Unsworth OBE, QICN Chair, Dr Richard Claxton, Chief Executive of The National Garden Scheme, and Karen Bonner MBE, Chief Nurse, NHS England London.
The prestigious title of Queen’s Nurse (QN) was awarded to numerous nurses who demonstrated a high level of commitment to patient care and nursing practice. The QN programme is supported by The National Garden Scheme (NGS), the QICN’s single biggest funder.
The Queen’s Nurses who attended the ceremony in-person and online can be found in the event programme here.
Steph Lawrence MBE, Chief Executive of the QICN, said: “To every Queen's Nurse, Fellow, and Awardee: you are the heart of healthcare.
“Your dedication to the people you serve, innovation and leadership transforms lives in the community every single day.
“Let this celebration fuel your ambition to lead the future of nursing and continue to deliver outstanding care.”
The Fellowship of the Institute was conferred upon seven distinguished leaders in the health and care sector:
- Professor Joanne Atkinson
- Gill Boast
- Matthew Peel
- Professor Nicola Ranger
- Thea Stein
- Rachel Viggars
- Professor Olga Yakusheva.
The ceremony celebrated outstanding individuals across various community specialisms:
- International Community Nurse of the Year Award: Awarded to Safia Seini to recognise her work as an Internationally Educated Nurse in a community setting in England
- The Dame Elizabeth Fradd Memorial Prize for Outstanding Achievement as a Community Children’s Nurse Student: Awarded to Sara Eacopo
- The Dora Roylance Memorial Prize for Student Health Visitors: Awarded to Charlene Meadwell
- The Ellen Mary Memorial Prize for outstanding Specialist Practice Qualification (SPQ) General Practice Nurse students: Awarded to Jun Yan Kung
- The Philip Goodeve-Docker Memorial Prize for top-performing District Nursing students: Awarded to Jincy Varghese and Kavita Kaluvakollu (online).
The QICN recognised nurses driving change through its dedicated leadership and innovation programmes.
The NGS Elsie Wagg (Innovation) Scholarship was awarded to nurses leading projects that demonstrate how gardens can promote health. Awardees included:
- Sophie Daniels – ‘A Place to Grow’ project
- Taiyla Howard-Shore – ‘GPN Community Growers’ project
- Alexandra Huddart – ‘The George’s Community Garden’ project
- Kendra Schneller – ‘Garden to Plate’ project
- Varda Lassman and Roy Tecson – ‘Growing Together’ project.
Recipients of the Community Nursing Innovation Programme, funded by the Burdett Trust, who secured funding for innovative projects, included:
- Claire Bolton – ‘Diabetes Care, One and All’ project
- Sharon Lee – ‘Diabetes Action Learning Sets for Social Care Nurses’ project
- Kirsten Roberts and Jayne Bennett – ‘Diabetes Inclusion’ project
- Claire Vine – ‘Growing up Sweet’ project.
Awards were also presented to nurses successfully completing the QICN’s leadership programmes, designed to support professional development in community and primary care settings.
- The Leading Strategically Programme – The programme is for senior nurse leaders working at a strategic level and is designed to help senior leaders advance their leadership skills to better manage and deliver community services.
Awardees: Lucy Brotherton, Ben Bowers, Rebecca Daniels, Francesca Dunn, Julia Fairhall, Kim Fretter, Kelly Geffen, Tracy Means, Clare Mechen, Claire Naylor, Joy Sutcliffe, Ynes Symonds, Rachel Viggars and Nicola Zolnhofer.
The Ambition to Lead Programme – The Ambition to Lead Programme is designed to support nurses working in the community to become future leaders in healthcare.
Awardees: Adeola Adeosun, Parvathy Bhuvanandran, Mo Bojang, Sharel Cole, Fran Gibson, Emily Guilmant-Farry, Elfrieda Kamau, Jen Lodge, Christine Pearson, Monika Selmani and Marianne Stoneman
Photographs of the Award Ceremonies
You can view the photographs below: