CTM success at Wales Nurse of the Year awards
Cwm Taf Morgannwg had a spectacular night at the prestigious Wales Nurse of the Year awards as four staff members celebrated wins.
The annual ceremony is run by the Royal College of Nursing Wales, and sees nurses from across the country recognized for excellence in a number of different categories.
Advanced Nurse Practitioner Claire Broom bagged the Care of the Older Person Award for her work on an enhanced service for care homes in the Cynon primary cluster.
The Children and Midwifery Award went to Staff Nurse Gaynor Gough and Clinical Nurse Practitioner Michelle Staple, who have developed a groundbreaking new resource to support children with additional needs.
Meanwhile Senior Nurse Jacqueline Morgan won the Supporting Education and Learning in Practice Award alongside Matthew Thornton of the University of South Wales. Together they spearheaded the introduction of an innovative new education model which encourages greater confidence and competence in students.
Greg Dix, Executive Director of Nursing and Midwifery at Cwm Taf Morgannwg UHB, said: “I’d like to extend my warmest congratulations to all of our winners.
“These awards are a credit to their extraordinary hard work and creativity, which is already making a difference and changing patient’s lives in our communities.
“We’ve worked hard to cultivate a real culture of innovation and development here at Cwm Taf Morgannwg, and it’s wonderful to see that recognised on a national scale by the Royal College of Nursing Wales.
“Our winners tonight really showcase CTM at our best, and I couldn’t be prouder of them.”
For more info about each of these staff members and their wins, read on:
Clare Broom – Advanced Nurse Practitioner
Clare was instrumental in the design and implementation of an enhanced service for the eleven care homes within the South Cynon primary care cluster.
Since being appointed as an advanced nurse practitioner in 2020, her clinical assessment skills and deep understanding of frailty has led to measurable benefits across the region. She knows the impact frailty has in reducing the ability to independently perform regular activities through physical or mental illness.
There was an urgent need to strengthen advance care planning across the care homes. Clare has strongly delivered, connecting with advance care planning clinical nurse specialists to help upskill and empower care home staff in implementing meaningful changes.
Implemented in February 2021, the new service enhancements include diagnosis and treatment of previously undiagnosed conditions, a new system for managing medicines, and a new system for managing chronic conditions.
Clare routinely demonstrates excellent nursing skills, including negotiation, leadership and the ability to work collaboratively. Her philosophy is to work alongside colleagues in a co-productive manner to meet the needs of the older person. The awards’ panel were truly impressed with her advocacy for the older person and how humble her work makes her feel.
Michelle Staple – Clinical Nurse Specialist for Children with Additional Needs
Gaynor Gough – Staff Nurse
Gaynor and Michelle have developed a ground-breaking new health profile resource to support children and young people with additional needs.
In consultation with senior nurses and consultants, they explored ways of improving clinical governance and patient experience. They identified gaps in the service and barriers to healthcare for vulnerable children, young people and families. Face-to-face listening was undertaken with families, allowing them to understand issues.
As part of the Community of Practice (COP) with Improvement Cymru Wales, Gaynor and Michelle are planning to pilot the health profile resource in the Merthyr area. Their goal is to improve communication between children, young people, families and health care professionals.
They aim to produce a training package to raise awareness, promote understanding and recognise the need for individualised child-centered care that delivers better outcomes. Their ultimate vision is a future where there are no health inequalities faced by people with a learning disability.
The awards’ panel were impressed by the pan-organisational work undertaken and the strategic links established. They commended Gaynor and Michelle for their strategic approach to enabling culture-change for equitable health care.
Jacqueline Morgan – Senior Nurse
Matthew Thornton – Academic Manager / Head of Practice Based Learning & Simulation
Jacqui and Matthew have led the introduction of an innovative and ambitious new model of education and learning in practice.
Using a collaborative learning approach (CLiP), the new model advocates an original approach for nursing students that shifts away from traditional mentorship, and towards coaching. This lets students develop greater confidence and competence through an evidence-based approach that is safely governed and fully evaluated.
In the first initiative of its kind in Wales, Jacqui and Matthew have expertly steered collaboration between Cwm Taf Morgannwg UHB and the University of South Wales.
The new approach allows students to be more proactive in caring for patients. It supports high quality learning, invests in existing and aspiring supervisors and maintains relationships to support this role. Third year students are required to coach first year students under the supervision of a registered nurse.
Introducing such wide change requires mutual resilience and flexibility from students, practice education facilitators, assessors and supervisors.
Implemented at a time of extreme pressure within the NHS, the project has been led by Jacqui and Matthew with great sensitivity, commitment and professionalism. Its success can be directly attributed to their exceptional joint leadership.