King’s scoops two British Journal of Nursing awards

05 April 2012 - King’s nurses were victorious in the Neuroscience Nursing and Haematology Nurse of the Year categories.

Laura Reiff-Zall

The BJN Awards are designed to recognise talent, professionalism and innovation among the nursing workforce, and were hosted by Cathy Shipton, aka Duffy from Casualty.

The Marjory Warren ward team won the Neuroscience Nursing award for the team’s sensory project at King’s. This involved a £265,000 refurbishment of the ward which cares for older people, including those with dementia. The ward now boasts mood lighting to help patients relax, as well as non-slip wood effect flooring and artwork showing a full London skyline to help trigger memory.

Mona Siyanga, Dementia Nurse Specialist at King’s, said: “It was great to be part of this fantastic project. It’s amazing to hear people’s views of the project. We were sure it would have a great impact on patient care and patient experience, but never expected to win such an eminent award. I’m still euphoric!”

Matron Laura Reiff-Zall won the “Haematology Nurse of the year” award for the work she does in ensuring that high standards of care are consistently given to patients. This is in addition to the encouragement and support she gives to help other nurses with their professional and personal development.

Lynda Bonner claimed second place for the prestigious “Nurse of the Year” award. Lynda has been instrumental in developing venous thromboembolism (VTE) awareness and prevention at King’s, and across the country.

Lynda helped develop the first VTE Exemplar Centre in the NHS at King’s, and founded the National Nursing and Midwifery Network (NNMN), comprising nurses and midwives from the national VTE Exemplar Centres network.

Tim Smart, Chief Executive, said: “For patients, high quality nursing is critical to the quality of care we provide. We are making great progress, have come a long way on our journey, and these awards are testament to that. Congratulations to all contestants and all those who have received recognition.”

Dr Geraldine Walters, Director of Nursing and Midwifery said: "This is a fantastic achievement by our staff and I am very proud that the nursing excellence at King's has been recognised in these awards. We are all delighted”

For further information please contact:
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Notes to editors

1. King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust is one of the UK’s largest and busiest teaching hospitals, with nearly 7,000 staff providing around 1,000, 000 patient contacts a year. King’s has a unique profile, with a full range of local hospital services for people in the London boroughs of Lambeth and Southwark as well as specialist services to patients from further afield. The Trust is recognized internationally for its work in liver disease and transplantation, neurosciences, cardiac, haemato-oncology, stroke and major trauma. King’s also plays a key role in the training and education of medical, nursing and dental students with its academic partner, King’s College London. For more information, visit http://www.kch.nhs.uk

2. King’s College Hospital and Guy’s and St Thomas’ are both part of King’s Health Partners Academic Health Sciences Centre (AHSC), a pioneering collaboration between King’s College London, and Guy’s and St Thomas’, King’s College Hospital and South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trusts.

King’s Health Partners is one of only five AHSCs in the UK and brings together an unrivalled range and depth of clinical and research expertise, spanning both physical and mental health. Our combined strengths will drive improvements in care for patients, allowing them to benefit from breakthroughs in medical science and receive leading edge treatment at the earliest possible opportunity.

For more information, visit http://www.kingshealthpartners.org