Local nursing staff honoured at awards

Four local nurses have received awards at this year's Northern Ireland Royal College of Nursing '˜Nurse of the Year' Awards.
The Northern Health Trust team pictured at the RCN 'Nurse of the Year' Awards.The Northern Health Trust team pictured at the RCN 'Nurse of the Year' Awards.
The Northern Health Trust team pictured at the RCN 'Nurse of the Year' Awards.

Sally Convery, Sarah McCann, and Paul McAleer - all from Portglenone - and Antrim woman Ann Gregg were recognised for their achievements at the awards on Thursday night in the Culloden Hotel.

Sally, a Macmillan Lung Cancer Specialist with the Northern Trust, was awarded joint winner for the Cancer Nurse of the Year award. She was recognised for her innovation in developing a screening tool which feeds into a holistic assessment of a person’s other care needs when receiving care for lung cancer.

Sarah, an Epilepsy Nurse Specialist, won the Learning Disability Award for developing Nurse-led Epilepsy Clinics to ensure the additional health care needs of people with learning disabilities were being continually met.

Paul, a Mental Health and Learning Disability Forensic Practitioner, won the Inspiring Excellence in Mental Health & Learning Disability for his role in delivering the ‘Second Chance for Change’ psychodrama project.

Meanwhile, Ann, a Dementia Companion, was runner up in the Health Care Support Worker category, for her dedication to person centred care.

The Northern Trust won five of the 14 categories and was runner up in another.

Eileen McEneaney, Northern Trust Director of Nursing, said “I am extremely proud of the devotion, innovation and quality demonstrated by the Northern Trust nursing staff.

“At a time when the sector is facing significant challenges it’s wonderful to acknowledge the hard work undertaken by staff on the ground.”