Nurse Karen on top title shortlist
ORMSKIRK mental health nurse Karen Coutts has been shortlisted for an RCNi Nurse Award.
The Patient’s Choice Award is a special award that gives members of the public the chance to thank a nurse who has made a real difference to their or a loved one’s care.
Alexandra Elkington nominated the “amazing” Deputy Ward Sister at Lancashire Care NHS Trust for helping her move forward after she was diagnosed with dissociative identity disorder.
She said: “Karen was the first person to get it, to truly understand.
“She was the first person to think outside the box, and work with me as an individual rather than the label I had been given.
‘When I first met Karen, I was at the lowest point of my life. I was closed to the idea of being nursed or cared about, and I was closed to the idea of help and recovery, I was hopeless.”
When she met Karen in an inpatient unit in April 2016, six years after her diagnosis, Alexandra made dramatic progress in just five months.
She added: “Karen cared about me and spoke to me because she wanted to speak to me, not just because it was her job.’
She helped the other nurses and support workers to understand Alexandra’s diagnosis, and as a team, they supported her and gave her the tools she needed to help herself.
Despite transferring to Ormskirk Hospital, Karen returned to help Alexandra complete that part of the treatment with her.
Although Alexandra has been readmitted a few times, her stays have been for weeks rather than months.
Regional director of RCN North West Estephanie Dunn said: “I never cease to be humbled how members of our nursing workforce go above and beyond to achieve the best possible outcome for their patients.
“For Karen to return to her former place of work in her own time to ensure that Alexandra was completely at ease with the next stage of her journey is a truly amazing act.”
Alexandra said: ‘I truly believe that without Karen’s input I would be in a secure forensic unit, or even worse, I would no longer be alive.’
Karen, who qualified as a mental health nurse almost four years age was “gobsmacked” to be a finalist, saying: “I just come into work and do what I have to do for my patients.
“Patients have told me before I have made a difference but seeing it written down by Alexandra makes it hit home.”