Caring Anne lands a right royal title
Health worker honoured as a Queen’s Nurse
A community nurse who helps teen mums having their first baby is among 20 who have just been awarded a special royal title.
Anne Burns, who is from Barrhead and is based at Renfrew Health and Social Work Centre in Ferry Road, is now a Queen’s Nurse.
This is the first time the honour has been made in Scotland for almost 50 years.
Anne is part of the team that spearheaded the development of the Family Nurse Partnership (FNP) model for NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde in Renfrewshire.
Her job involves what she describes as “a structured intensive home visiting programme” for young mums aged 19 and under who are having their first baby.
Through FNP, young women are invited to voluntarily enrol on a two-and-a-half-year programme early in their pregnancy, and are visited by a specially-trained family nurse.
Anne told the Express: “This is a challenging role and takes a lot of energy, however it is immensely rewarding.
“Becoming a Queen’s Nurse is an endorsement of everything I believe in as a nurse and what I’m learning is being taken back to benefit my colleagues and the young families we work with.”
After completing the ninemonth programme through The Queen’s Nursing Institute Scotland, Anne has earned the right to use the Queen’s Nurse title.
This dates back to the late 19th century when nurses trained at Institute sites across the country, until 1969.
The decision was made to reintroduce the title to Scotland this year, following the precedent set by sister organisation the Queen’s Nursing Institute ( QNI), which represents the rest of the UK.
A Scottish programme was then developed after extensive consultation with health and social care leaders.
Anne is among the 20 new Queen’s Nurses gaining the title to be presented with a certificate and badge by Great British Bake Off judge Prue Leith during the QNIS awards ceremony in Edinburgh.
Other community nurses involved include a midwife caring for asylum-seeking mothers in Glasgow, a nurse working at police custody, practice and district nurses, school nurses, a mental health nurse, health visitors, a care home and a parish nurse.
Clare Cable, chief executive and nurse director of QNIS, said: “These 20 exceptional individuals can be deservedly proud of being awarded this prestigious title.
“From the late 1880s, Queen’s Nurses were social reformers who were taking public health into people’s homes to help families take better care of themselves.
“The modern Queen’s Nurses are building on this proud heritage – sharing this pioneering spirit to improve the health and wellbeing of the communities of Scotland.
“Their roles vary, from bringing care to some of society’s most vulnerable and marginalised groups to supporting people in mental distress or end of life care.
“They represent the geography of Scotland, from rural communities and small islands to concentrated areas within the big cities, but they all demonstrate nursing excellence which makes a real difference to the lives of the people they work with.”