Leading nurses received a variety of awards for their contributions to healthcare at the British Journal of Nursing Awards at Shakespeare's Underglobe on 20 March.
The awards were divided into several specialist categories, such as infection prevention, stoma care, and nutrition.
Jean Ross, a community stoma nurse at Airedale Community Trust was award stoma care nurse of the year. She set up the stoma care nursing department at Airedale General Hospital in 1990. She played a crucial role in setting up and teaching a level six stoma care module that is now being run also at level seven.
For the nutrition award, Sarah Galliford, Ffion Jones, Natalie Pinch and Mark Mapstone, nutrition nurse specialists from Cardiff and Vale University Health Board, were recognised for their implementation of a project which saw 111 out of 186 referrals for chest x-ray received by the nutrition nurses were cancelled.
William Pooley, the nurse who contracted Ebola, while providing care work in Sierra Leone was recognised as the infection prevention nurse of the year. While he could not attend the ceremony, his mother accepted the award on his behalf, saying: 'On Will's behalf, we'd like to thank you very much for this award, and, as we accept it, we know he would also want us to remember all those other health workers of all nationalities who have put their lives on the line to bring this horrific epidemic under control. Especially in our thoughts are the Sierra Leonean workers, who know that if they contract ebola, they have no choice but to be treated on the wards in which they work - as indeed Will thought would happen to him.'
The nurse of the year award went to Agimol Pradeep, a transplant specialist nurse who registered over 3000 organ donors from the South Asian community, potentially saving 25,000 live over the last fours years.
Dame Elizabeth Fradd was given the lifetime achievement award, for her long career as a nurse and nurse academic.