Provide Community is proud to announce that one of its nursing colleagues has recently won the prestigious Cavell Star Award for her dedication to nursing.
Andrea McDonald, Clinical Lead Tissue Viability, Lymphoedema and Dermatology & Interim Manager Podiatry and Podiatric Surgery, was given the award at a surprise ceremony.
Cavell Star Awards are given to nurses, midwives, nursing associates and healthcare assistants that deliver exceptional care to colleagues, patients and their patient’s families.
Andrea was invited to attend a Senior Leadership Team Day to give what she thought would be giving a presentation about her recent work with NHS England and Nurse Fellows to improve wound care delivery throughout the organisation.
However, upon arrival Andrea was instead invited to the stage to receive the Cavell Star Award from NHS Nurse Fellows Geraldine Rogers OBE and Sifiso Mguni.
The award-winning nurse said, “I was honoured to receive the Cavell Star Award last week. I had no idea that I had even been nominated. I was lost for words and the whole experience brought a tear to my eye.
“This award is not just for me. It represents a huge team effort across the Tissue Viability, Lymphoedema, Lower Limb Service and Community Nurse teams. We have all worked together to improve the lives of our patients.
“I have been working with the Mid and South Essex Community Collaborative and the NHS England Nurse Fellows to improve wound care within our organisation and better capture our patient experience.
“This work has led us to put our nurses on rolling six-month secondments, host weekly meetings where all teams can meet to discuss patients and implement mandatory wound care training across Provide Community.
“It has been important for us to hear from our patients through case studies, surveys and testimonials. Not all wounds will heal, so we want to demonstrate we can improve quality of life through high quality wound care management. We have even created a quality-of-life app to support patients.
“This work is very important to me, as I know that effective wound care management can mean that our patients can live a more comfortable and confident life. For example, it may mean being able to wear a pair of shoes to a family wedding. These things may seem small, but are very important to our patients.
“Thank you again to the NHS Nurse Fellows and NHS England for this award.”
Stephanie Dawe, CEO of Provide Health, said “Andrea McDonald is an outstanding nurse of some 40 years of practice. Her dedication, passion and compassion are second to none!
“I feel deeply proud to know that Andrea provides the highest level of care to the people of mid-Essex.
“She truly deserves this recognition and whilst it has long since been known she is a Provide Community star she has now rightly been awarded the Cavell Star.”
