The title is not an award for past service, but indicates a commitment to high standards of patient care, leadership and learning.
Liz Briant, based at the Bluecoats Community Nurse Base in Stamford, is now the 21st Queen's Nurse at Lincolnshire Community Health Services NHS Trust (LCHS). She was encouraged to apply for the award by her manager and her application was supported by personal statements from a selection of her patients. "I am honoured to receive the title and I know that both my children, mum and family are really proud of me," said Liz. Liz's nursing career began in 1979. She overcame adversity to embark on her nurse training and set out to prove others wrong. "I wear two hearing aids and this was a barrier I had to overcome. People didn't think I could do my job properly because of this," explained Liz. Her 34 years' career began with her nurse training in Carlisle, before she moved on to an orthopaedic unit in Macclesfield. It was in Cambridgeshire that she had her first community post and spent time working and living in Middlesex and Hampshire before settling in Stamford, Lincolnshire. Liz added: "I really enjoy working here in the community. As a qualified nurse you have to draw on your experience to make decisions about many things in the patient's home environment, you have to be flexible. I think we have a lot of responsibility managing medical care outside of a hospital environment."
In 2003, Liz took a break from nursing and took a new direction and studied to be a primary school classroom assistant. But she missed looking after the sick and made a move back into the NHS. Liz explained: "My current role sees me assessing people in their own homes, who cannot travel to their surgery, deciding what treatment is best for their wound, or what equipment they may require for pressure relief. I also liaise with carers, GPs, diabetic specialist nurses, Macmillan nurses, social workers and many other professionals to enable us, as a team, to deliver the best care possible to the patient. I'm particularly passionate about palliative care and tissue viability." "I'm also passionate about teaching students - it's a great opportunity to keep yourself up-to-date and to be a mentor for the future of nursing," added Liz.
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 Liz for her achievements." Crystal Oldman, Chief Executive of the Queen's Nursing Institute, said: "Congratulations are due to Liz and her success. Community nurses operate in an ever more challenging world and our role is to support them as effectively as we can."