Maggie receives Queen’s Nurse award
A community nurse from Kintyre has been awarded the prestigious title of Queen’s Nurse.
Maggie Wilkieson, from Gigha, was selected earlier this year to take part in a nine-month development programme run by the Queen’s Nursing Institute Scotland (QNIS).
She was nominated by her employers at NHS Highland for providing high quality, compassionate care to people in the community.
Caring
After completing the programme successfully, she was awarded the historic Queen’s Nurse title along with 18 other community nurses, including Joanna Taylor from Lochgilphead, at a ceremony in Edinburgh last Thursday.
Maggie is based in Campbeltown where she works as the Community Macmillan Clinical Nurse Specialist, caring for people in their homes as well as in the hospital.
She said: ‘I meet people at various stages of their illness; my main work, however, is supporting those who require palliative and end-of-life care, a role in which I feel both honoured and humbled to share with patients and their families.
‘My job has evolved over the past 12 years, comprising mainly a clinical role, but also leadership, service development, community engagement and education.
‘My first community nursing post more than 20 years ago was working as a community nurse and midwife on Gigha where my mentor was a Queen’s Nurse. She was an amazing person to work beside and really moulded the service to what the community needed. She was such a motivating person and a real inspiration to me.
‘To follow in her footsteps and those of the other Queen’s Nurses by receiving this title is a real honour for me and an ambition fulfilled.’
Elaine McTavish, Macmillan Partnership Quality Lead, said: ‘I have known Maggie in her capacity as Macmillan Community Clinical Nurse Specialist for the past six years and have seen her outstanding commitment to her patients and their families year after year.
Lucky
‘She routinely goes above and beyond her role, always making herself available to support people and improving the experience people affected by cancer have in the Campbeltown area.
‘Her patients and families are truly lucky to have her help them navigate what is probably the most difficult journey of their lives. She does it with compassion, honesty, discretion and a huge level of caring.
‘I am thoroughly delighted to see her get this prestigious accolade and cannot think of a better recipient. I know that she will continue to develop with the programme offered to her.’
Joanna, who is based at the council building in Lochgilphead, has recently changed post from a community
staff nurse, a role she did for 18 years, to working as Advanced Nurse for Clinical Education and a liaison lecturer for the University of the West of Scotland (UWS).
Liz Higgins, lead nurse, Argyll and Bute Health and Social Care Partnership, said: ‘I am really delighted that Joanna and Maggie have been
awarded the title of Queen’s Nurse. This is a well-deserved recognition for the work that they do day-in, day-out for their patients.
‘They are excellent examples of the nursing profession and, along with their other nursing colleagues in Argyll and Bute, they have a real compassion for the job that they do.’