Four North Mid finalists shortlisted in prestigious Nursing Times awards
Staff and services run by North Middlesex University Hospital NHS Trust have been confirmed as through to the final in this year’s prestigious Nursing Times awards, one of the health and care sector’s leading prize schemes.
Our service for children who have been diagnosed with HIV has been announced as a finalist in two high profile categories, reaching the shortlist for the best Children’s Services Award, and for the Dame Elizabeth Anionwu Award for Inclusivity in Nursing and Midwifery, a new category introduced this year.
Paediatric HIV service
This nurse-led service supports babies and children born to HIV positive mothers, through home visits and clinic appointments. By spanning in-hospital and community services, this service gives patients the care they need closer to home with less disruption, supporting them to adhere better to their treatment arrangements.
The award nomination contains supporting data which illustrates that North Mid’s paediatric HIV service achieves some of the best clinical outcomes in England. The service’s monitoring shows that all children it supports have unrecognisable viral loads. This is a key indicator of their HIV being managed as well as possible, and an important sign that their health is being protected through their treatment and care.
Nurse of the Year finalist second consecutive year
Our paediatric HIV service is an innovative care model established by paediatric infectious disease specialist nurse Yolette Fraser, who has herself been shortlisted in the top-flight category of Nurse of the Year. Her finalist status in the 2023 Nursing Times Awards follows hot on the heels of paediatric nursing colleague Anne Biggs who not only reached the final of this category in 2022, but scooped the overall title! Anne has subsequently been recognised as one of Nursing Times’s “75 impact makers” – a major honour – and part of the journal’s marking of the NHS75 anniversary next week.
Yolette was nominated for her instrumental role in establishing and leading North Mid’s nurse-led paediatric HIV service, and how she has helped share the excellent model she has developed with other NHS trusts around the country.
Our fourth finalist is no stranger to the awards spotlight – ABC Parents (Achieving a Better Community) is a children’s community outreach group for parents and carers across Enfield and Haringey. Also a finalist in the Dame Elizabeth Anionwu Award for Inclusivity in Nursing and Midwifery, ABC Parents offers training in lifesaving and child health, and supports families to build strong connections in their local community which empower and enrich their parenting and caring confidence.
North Mid’s chief executive Dr Nnenna Osuji said: “I am so pleased to see the hard work and patient-focused dedication of our staff and services recognised in these major awards for the health sector. It’s particularly heartening to see recognition for work which transcends any distinction between hospital and community delivery, truly putting patients at its heart, and supporting their health, care and treatment exactly where they are, getting on with living their lives. This is the future for health and care, and North Mid is committed to making it real."
Sarah Hayes, chief nurse at North Mid, said: "We are all incredibly proud of all the North Mid finalists in this year’s 2023 Nursing Times awards. It is a real honour to make the shortlist once in these awards, let alone four times! But most of all it is truly an honour to be the Chief Nurse for these amazing staff, who provide such important care and treatment for our local community, and who are valued so highly by our local families, as shown in the patient and parent feedback that makes their nominations so strong.”