Two nurses from Leicestershire Partnership NHS Trust (LPT) have received the international DAISY Award for the outstanding compassionate care they provide to their patients.
The DAISY Awards are an international recognition programme that honours and celebrates the exceptional care that many nurses and midwives provide every day.
Claire Stafford, complex wound nurse, was nominated for the award for going “above and beyond” in providing care to a patient with wound complications, and Alicia Foulds, specialist community heart failure nurse, was nominated for the prestigious award for providing “incredibly high standard of individualised, patient-centred, holistic care” to an older patient.
Claire’s nomination, from her patient, reads: “My wound nurse Claire Stafford has truly made a big difference in my life. I go to Beaumont Leys Health Centre in Leicester twice a week for the problems with my feet.
“I used to be quite depressed about having this problem, but being treated by Claire has turned all that around and has made me feel much more positive about my feet problem and my future.
“She always shows absolute care with my treatment and is totally compassionate.
“Claire goes above and beyond to help me and has really improved my life. She is an absolute credit to the nursing profession and I’m so very glad to have her as my nurse.”
Alicia’s nomination, from her patient’s carer, reads: “I should like to nominate Alicia, as, over recent months, I have had the pleasure of witnessing the incredibly high standard of individualised, patient centred, holistic care that she consistently provides.
“Not only has Alicia listened to the patient I know, who is a vulnerable 89-year-old lady, she has always found a way to act on her wishes in order to achieve the best outcome. She has also co-ordinated and, at times, led several other professionals in order to achieve and maintain a co-ordinated approach, and improve communication between everyone.
“I honestly believe that without Alicia, her patient would have died, and in my role as informal carer, I am not sure I could have coped without her kindness and professional input.
“Alicia is always available to support her patient as well as friends and carers and makes a difference every day to so many people. She is very modest and yet clearly has a tremendous amount of professional knowledge but is able to use this in a quite extraordinary way when she communicates with patients.
“Alicia is undoubtedly a credit to her profession and employer, and I shall be disappointed if she does not receive the recognition that she richly deserves.”
Both Claire and Alicia received their award from Jane Martin, assistant director for nursing and quality at LPT, accompanied by their nominators and colleagues.
Claire shared: “I’m delighted and overwhelmed at being recognised for what I do. I just feel very grateful to be a nurse.
“Meeting patients and seeing the impact and difference I can make in their lives is what I love the most about being a nurse.”
Alicia shared: “I’m so touched that someone would take the time to go to the lengths of a nomination like this to show appreciation of the work we do. I absolutely love my job and the team I am surrounded by.
“I feel like a huge amount of credit should go to the whole team and the culture we create, to do as much as we can for our patients to achieve better outcomes.
“Getting this kind of recognition is just hugely humbling to realise the enormous impact we make to patients and their loved ones with the care we provide.”
You can thank your nurse by making a DAISY Award nomination here: www.leicspart.nhs.uk/about/daisy-award
An acronym for Diseases Attacking the Immune System, The DAISY Foundation was formed in America in November 1999, by the family of J. Patrick Barnes who died at age 33 of complications of Idiopathic Thrombocytopenic Purpura (ITP). The nursing care Patrick received when hospitalised profoundly touched his family.
You can find out more about the DAISY Foundation on their website: www.daisyfoundation.org
Each DAISY Award honouree is recognised at a ceremony in their ward or department and receives a DAISY Award pin, certificate and a hand-carved sculpture A Healer’s Touch, funded by LPT’s charity Raising Health.