The skills and dedication of a specialist nurse providing end of life care to patients with life-threatening illnesses has been recognised with a prestigious Queen’s Nurse award.
Bernie Fisher, who lives in Upton-upon-Severn, received the prestigious title of Queen’s Nurse (QN) by community nursing charity The Queen’s Nursing Institute (QNI) at a special award ceremony in London last month.
Mrs Fisher, who qualified as a Registered Nurse in 1981, has 30 years of nursing experience in oncology and community nursing roles. She has provided compassionate care to St Richard’s Hospice patients in their own homes and communities for the last six years, supporting patients registered with two GP practices in Worcester. As a Clinical Nurse Specialist, she works with community healthcare teams to manage patients’ symptoms, offering patients emotional support and assists them to make informed choices about their care.
A Queen’s Nurse is someone who is highly skilled in their field of community nursing and provides their patients or clients with a feeling of well-being, of service and respect. A Queen’s Nurse is committed to improving care and acts as a role model to other community nurses.
The title is not an award for past service, but indicates a commitment to high standards of patient care, learning and leadership. Nurses who hold the title benefit from developmental workshops, bursaries, networking opportunities, and a shared professional identity.
Mrs Fisher said; “I am honoured to be awarded this title. I am passionate about providing excellent nursing care to very vulnerable patients in the community, and am looking forward to linking with other Queen’s Nurses to develop new ideas that continue to develop our service.”
Crystal Oldman, Chief Executive of the QNI said; “Congratulations are due to Mrs Fisher for her success. Community nurses operate in an ever more challenging world and our role is to support them as effectively as we can. The QN title is a key part of this and we would encourage other community nurses to apply.”
St Richard’s Hospice provides free specialist palliative care for patients living with life-threatening illnesses and supports their families. Each year the hospice team supports over 2,600 patients and family members in Worcestershire with compassion, kindness, dignity and respect.
Patients are cared for in Day Hospice, the 17-bed In-patient Unit or in their own homes by a specialist professional team as well as many trained volunteers.
In the In-patient Unit, specialist staff are on hand 24 hours a day to manage patients’ symptoms and where, if appropriate, patients may spend the last few days of life in comfort and dignity. St Richard’s is an independent charity and is grateful for all donations to help it to continue its work.