Prestigious nursing award for Portstewart woman's 'outstanding contribution to paediatric cancer care'
A Portstewart nurse has won a prestigious award from the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) for her outstanding contribution to paediatric cancer care at the Royal Belfast Hospital for Sick Children.
Emma Dinsmore is a Leukaemia Clinical Nurse Specialist at the Belfast Health and Social Care Trust hospital which is home to Northern Ireland’s only specialist unit for children with haematology and oncology conditions.
Emma won the Cancer Nurse Award, sponsored by Macmillan Cancer Support at the RCN Northern Ireland Nurse of the Year Awards 2025, held recently at the Culloden Hotel, Holywood.
A tireless advocate for young patients and their families, Emma has played a pivotal role in transforming the treatment experience for children with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia.
She led the development and implementation of a new clinical pathway that significantly reduces the length of hospital stays during the crucial induction phase of treatment.
As a result, eligible children are now able to return home as early as day nine, supported by a hybrid model of outpatient and home-based care — a change that has seen the average hospital stay drop from 35 days to just 11.6.
This innovation has delivered substantial benefits, including improved mobility, better nutrition, and a reduced risk of hospital-acquired infections, easing the physical and emotional burden on young patients and their families.
The Portstewart women has also championed the safe delivery of chemotherapy in the community, developing policies and training programmes for the administration of intravenous and subcutaneous cytarabine outside the hospital setting.
Her work has enabled the launch of an outreach service for home chemotherapy, minimising hospital visits and allowing children to spend more time at home with their loved ones.
Beyond her clinical impact, Emma remains deeply engaged with the wider cancer support community. She has helped to establish and run a parental advisory group, creating a vital forum for families to share experiences and shape the future of cancer services.
The judging panel praised Emma for her exceptional commitment to family-centred care, her visionary leadership, and her dedication to building partnerships that place the patient experience at the heart of service development.