Mersey Reporter - #Merseybites #News

THE inspirational winners of the 2023 Student Nursing Times Awards were revealed in front of the nursing community on:- Friday, 28 April 2023, at the Grosvenor House Hotel, London.

Celebrating its 12th year, the Student Nursing Times Awards brought together near 800 talented student nurses, education providers, and mentors entering.

Sefton Training Hub (Southport and Formby Health) Clinicians Maggi Bradley and Kim Wareing, in association with Jess Lea (Community Nurse) and the Faculty of Health, Social Care and Medicine at Edge Hill University worked in partnership to develop the award winning Aquarium Project and the inclusion of learning disability student nurses in Primary Care.

The Aquarium Project has made a huge impact for both patients with learning disabilities and Student Nurses around Sefton.

Maggi Bradley, Clinical Nurse Lead at Sefton Training Hub commented:- “The Aquarium is the evidence behind all our work and that it represents the different ways in which people learn and receive information. As is true of a person with a learning disability. Hence its relevance. It has been shared across the country and has received interest from as far afield as London and Newcastle.”

The Student Nursing Times Awards celebrates the very best in nurse education, recognises and rewards brilliant educational establishments and honours those who are committed to developing new nursing talent as mentors, lecturers and providers of placements. The awards also pays tribute to students who have demonstrated the academi achievement, clinical prowess and personal qualities that will make them brilliant nurses.

Following a rigorous judging process with an independent panel of judges, The Sefton Training Hub (Southport and Formby Health) and Edge Hill University won in recognition of:- 'The Aquarium Project', the inclusion of learning disability student nurses in Primary Care.

This is what the judges said about:- 'The Sefton Training Hub and Edge Hill University’s Partnership and the Aquarium Project' within the summery:-“Innovative and successful project with true collaborative partnership working. This project has introduced pre-registration learning disability student nurse placements into primary care settings. This initiative has resulted in the creation of 3 x Learning Disability Practice Nurses Roles; a 1st within this locality. In addition, the numbers of student placements has increased and the initiative has been expanded to included mental health student placements”.

Dr Lindsay McClelland, Chief Executive commented:- “I'm so proud of the partnership on achieving this award. The partnership between Edge Hill University and our Training Hub has gone above and beyond to think of innovative new ways to offer community placements for all student nurse disciplines, ensuring nurse students get the depth and breadth of experience they need, in order to become independent, holistic Clinicians. The recent pilot with Learning Disability nurse students, under the Aquarium programme has been a great success. We have managed to recruit learning disability nurses across our PCN, strengthening and broadening the future workforce and looking towards a more resilient and sustainable workforce. This award gives the deserved recognition for all those involved, who worked so passionately to make this happen.”

Sarah Amin, Sefton Training Hub Manager commented:- “Working within the NHS, our doctors, nurses, receptionists are doing and being their very best in a busy, challenging and constrained working environment. Every day. They are an inspiration to the NHS. At Sefton Training Hub, we are lucky to have an inspirational, passionate and charismatic Nurse Development Lead, Maggi Bradley, part of our team. She is a force who will do everything in ensuring there is space for student nurses to learn, develop and flourish within primary care. As a mentor, Maggi has reminded us that the basic humanistic touch to a student’s journey across the various nursing specialities makes all the difference. With a team of now qualified nurses and our unbreakable partnership with Edge Hill University, Maggi and team are making sure that Southport anf Formby Health and South Sefton are putting the students in the heart and front of the centre. It inspires us all to keep pushing! Congratulations, thank you and well done to Maggi, Kim, Jess, Edge Hill University and Sefton Training Hub team!”

The full list of winners can be found at-: StudentAwards.NursingTimes.Net.