Community nurses earn Queen's Nurse title

Two senior community nurses who oversee the Exeter area have been awarded the title of Queen’s Nurse.

Sarah Garnsworthy and Jane Watson are both senior nurses for community nursing for the Northern Devon Healthcare NHS Trust.

They were given their new title by The Queen’s Nursing Institute (QNI) at its autumn awards ceremony at the Royal Garden Hotel in Kensington, London.

The title reflects a commitment to high standards of patient care, learning and leadership in community nursing.

Sarah and Jane are the professional leads for the community nurses who care for patients in their own homes and other community settings in the Exeter area.

They said: “We are both extremely proud to be awarded the title of Queen’s Nurse.

“Our community nursing teams do a fantastic job delivering high-quality nursing care for people in their own homes in the Exeter area and it is a pleasure to lead and develop them.”

Queen’s Nurses benefit from development workshops, bursaries, networking and other opportunities.

The title is given following an application process which includes feedback about the individual from managers and patients.

Dr Crystal Oldman, QNI chief executive, said: “Congratulations to our new Queen’s Nurses in Devon on their success.

“The Queen’s Nurse network is probably the most exciting professional development opportunity for nurses working in primary care, and we look forward to working with Sarah and Jane as they bring excellent care to their patients in the community.”

The awards ceremony was attended by over 200 people, including 80 new Queen’s Nurses and senior figures in the nursing and healthcare sectors.

Sarah and Jane were presented with their award by Professor Viv Bennett, director of nursing for the Department of Health and Public Health England.

The duo also attended the QNI’s annual conference at the Royal Garden Hotel, along with Trust colleagues Tina Naldrett, Isabel Tomlin and Amy Lake.

Tina is assistant director of nursing for community nursing and community hospitals while Isabel and Amy are community nurses in the Lynton integrated team who both earned the title of Queen’s Nurse in 2012.

The conference was attended by over 300 nurses, allied health professionals and other stakeholders.

The event featured a range of speakers on the future of community health services and marked the launch of the NHS Innovation Awards by NHS England chief executive Simon Stevens.