Two NHS Lothian nurses picked up awards at the highly prestigious RCN Scotland Nurse of the Year Awards.
The awards showcase the very best of nursing across Scotland, highlighting and celebrating the unwavering commitment and remarkable professional care provided by nursing staff.
Frances Aitken, Lead Dementia Nurse for Stress and Distress, St John’s Hospital, scooped the Mental Health Nursing Award for her work to improve the care experience for patients with cognitive decline in St John’s Hospital. Frances has led the implementation of the Stress and Distress programme and runs training for staff which has helped reduce the need for one-to-one nursing, sedation, emergency calls, and has improved pain management for patients.
Professor Juliet MacArthur, Chief Nurse Research & Development in NHS Lothian, was announced as a joint winner for the Inspiring Excellence – Nursing innovation award. Juliet has been instrumental in advancing clinical academic careers and research partnerships in various health care disciplines across Edinburgh and the Lothians. One of Juliet’s projects focuses on nursing and midwifery candidates in the Lothian Clinical Academic Research Gateway Awards scheme. The scheme aims to build research capacity across clinical teams by providing funding for NHS professionals to participate in research development opportunities.
Elaine Wilson, Community Staff Nurse, Fiona Hunt, Team Lead for Organ Perfusion and Preservation, and the Strathaird team at the Royal Edinburgh Hospital, were also highly commended in their fields.
Alison Macdonald, Nurse Director, NHS Lothian, said: “Huge congratulations to both Frances and Juliet for being recognised for the outstanding work they do everyday in NHS Lothian.
“It really fantastic that our staff’s dedication and passion, no matter how challenging the circumstances are, is being highlighted nationally.”
“All of our finalists should be very proud of themselves.”
To read more about the RCN awards here.
