Nurse wins top accolade

Pioneering work to ensure hospital patients get the best possible care for wounds has earned a specialist nurse a prestigious national award.

The work was done in Kidderminster, Redditch and Worcester

Consultant nurse Helen Shoker won the national Innovation in Hospital Wound Care at an annual ceremony in London.

Helen, who leads the tissue viability team at Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust, was presented with the award in recognition of her efforts to improve care for patients with wounds from surgery, injury or illness.

Helen said after winning the award: "It was fantastic, not only for me, but also because of what it says about the quality of care we provide for patients in our Trust and how advanced we are in tackling wound care compared to other parts of the country."

A key part of Helen's work is training people how to select the best dressings.

She said: "Getting this right, particularly choosing the dressing from what can be a complex range of options, can make a real difference to a patient's healing and recovery

"We have carefully monitored our progress and we know we have improved significantly. What the award shows is how far we have moved ahead of many other hospitals in this field."

Chief executive of Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust, John Rostill, said: "This is well deserved recognition for some excellent work to improve patient care."