The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
Nurse Lesley gets royal honour
A Perthshire nurse has received a historic royal honour from Bake Off judge Prue Leith.
Lesley Paterson, from Auchterarder, was one of 20 who have been awarded the title of Queen’s Nurse – the first time the honour has been made in Scotland for nearly 50 years.
Lesley, a professional and practice development nurse for NHS Tayside, was handed her certificate and badge at a ceremony in Edinburgh yesterday.
She was selected earlier this year to take part in a nine-month development programme run by the Queen’s Nursing Institute Scotland (QNIS).
Lesley worked in one of two areas across Scotland that tested a new vision for school nursing, and was nominated for the programme due to her commitment to professional reform.
She said: “Our sole aim is to improve the outcomes for children and young people.
“The school nurse is there to identify potential support needs and ensure they are put in place for everyone who might benefit.”
She added: “The Queen’s Nurse experience has made me more balanced and measured, more in control of the tough conversations that sometimes have to be had.”
Lesley, who works from two bases between Perth Royal Infirmary and a health centre in Dundee, has earned the right to use the Queen’s Nurse title, which dates to the late 19th Century, from when nurses trained at Institute sites across the country until 1969.
The decision was made to reintroduce the title to Scotland in 2017 following the precedent set by sister organisation, the Queen’s Nursing Institute.