The prestigious award of Queen’s Nurse has returned to Scotland for the first time in 50 years, marking the latest in a series of awards that began in 1859.
Twenty community nurses have been awarded the title of Queen’s Nurse after being selected in February this year by the Queen’s Nursing Institute Scotland (QNIS) and following a nine-month development programme.
Clare Cable, Chief Executive and Nurse Director of QNIS, said: ‘These 20 exceptional individuals can be deservedly proud of being awarded this prestigious title.
‘From the late 1880s, Queen’s Nurses were social reformers who were taking public health into people’s homes to help families take better care of themselves. The modern Queen’s Nurses are building on this proud heritage – sharing this pioneering spirit to improve the health and wellbeing of the communities of Scotland.’
The cohort – drawn from Scotland’s Health Boards and other independent organisations throughout Scotland – included a midwife who works with asylum seeking mothers in Glasgow, a nurse responsible for people in police custody in Edinburgh, and an advanced nurse practitioner working as the only health professional on a small Orkney island.
The decision to reinstate the award in Scotland came after the Queen’s Nursing Institute (QNI), which represents the rest of the UK, consulted with the QNIS to develop a programme in collaboration with health and social care leaders. The course was designed to help teams provide quality care and to promote health improvement in a variety of communities.
Clare Cable added: ‘Their roles vary, from bringing care to some of society’s most vulnerable and marginalised groups to supporting people in mental distress or end of life care.
‘They represent the geography of Scotland, from rural communities and small islands to concentrated areas within the big cities, but they all demonstrate nursing excellence which makes a real difference to the lives of the people they work with.’
The award winners were presented with a certificate and badge, as all Queen’s Nurses are, during a ceremony in Edinburgh on the 1st December by guest of honour Prue Leith of the Great British Bake Off and Chancellor of Queen Margaret University.