April Fixter, a District Nurse case manager, in Louth is now the 20th Queen's Nurse at Lincolnshire Community Health Services NHS Trust (LCHS). "I am absolutely thrilled to receive the award. The district nurse title is 150 years old and the service is synonymous with high quality care for patients and carers”, said April. April was encouraged to put herself forward for the award by colleague and fellow Queens Nurse Anne Duncan. Her application was then supported by her manager and by personal statements from a selection of her patients.
April qualified as a District Nurse at Hull University and has gone on to complete a community practice educator’s course at Sheffield Hallam University. April has now notched up nearly 30 years service in the NHS the majority of which has been spent in the community. Her current role sees April working with Kidgate and James Street surgeries in Louth. She added: "District Nursing illustrates the values I hold. I plan on remaining committed to the role and providing the highest quality of care to patients and to education."
Sue Cousland, Chief Nurse and Director of Operations at LCHS, said: "We are very proud of our ever growing team of Queen's Nurses at Lincolnshire Community Health Services and they are rightly recognised for the contributions they make to patient care and the development of our future nurses and leaders. We offer our best wishes and congratulations to April for her achievements."
Crystal Oldman, Chief Executive of the Queen's Nursing Institute, said: "Congratulations are due to April and her success. Community nurses operate in an ever more challenging world and our role is to support them as effectively as we can."