Nurse is celebrating after rising star award nomination
A BAXENDEN nurse is celebrating after being nominated for the ‘Rising Star’ award at the national Nursing Times Awards.
Sarah Williams, a nurse at the Emergency Department at the Royal Blackburn Hospital, was secretly nominated for the award by one of her patients, William Woodcock, who was under her care for a number of days when he was in the Medical Assessment Unit (MAU).
Sarah said: “This nomination was a massive surprise and I was really shocked that William took the time to do this.
“I love nursing and I was just doing my job but this has been a massive confidence boost and confirmed that I’m in the right career!”
William’s entry submission praised Sarah for her care and her “smile and friendly manner” adding that “although she was relatively newly qualified, the depth of her knowledge was staggering and she put me and my family at ease by explaining everything that was happening. I honestly wouldn’t be alive if it wasn’t for the care and attention she showed to me and when I moved to a different ward she came up a week later to see how I was getting on.”
Sarah, 27, lives in Baxenden with her partner Callum and two-year-old daughter Sophie and qualified as a nurse in March 2014.
She had previously had a career in retail in Manchester before being made redundant. Following several months of unemployment, she took up a role as a carer in a residential home and applied to do a nursing degree at UCLAN.
Jane Pemberton, deputy chief nurse, added: “I’d like to congratulate Sarah, she underlines everything that is excellent about our nursing staff.”
Sarah will now go forward to an interview with the judging panel in London on September 14 before the award ceremony on November 12.