The Sunday Post People’s Choice nurse of the year has been whittled down to three finalists.
They were chosen from a list of nominees whose work and devotion to nursing showcase unstinting devotion to patients.
Nominations for The Sunday Post’s People’s Choice award in the Royal College of Nursing Scotland’s Awards included young children’s heart nurse Daniel Doyle 24, who endured a chaotic childhood in Govan to enter nursing.
He is now a staff nurse in paediatric cardiology at the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital. At weekends he volunteers at Glasgow Street Aid, treating the homeless and vulnerable.
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Also nominated was Mhairi Kyle from Crianlarich, who is studying to become a midwife after watching child cancer nurses treat her son, Callum, for leukaemia.
A life-saving link between the Vale of Leven Hospital in Alexandria and Palestine earned clinical nurse specialist Gerry O’Hare, 60, a nomination. He has spent 10 years volunteering to treat patients and training students to become highly qualified nurses in Palestine.
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The finalists are paediatric cancer nurse Fiona Bruce, of the Royal Hospital for Children, who also volunteers to treat desperately ill young patients in Africa.
Along with Edinburgh oncologist Dr Emma Johnson, and other nursing colleagues, she has helped Ghanian child cancer medics set up what has become a leading children’s unit in Africa.
When they arrived 11 years ago cancer care was being directed by a nurse in her 80s who drove an old bus a radius of 100 miles to attend sick and dying children.
Thanks to Fiona and the Edinburgh team and their equally dedicated colleagues in Accra, they now have the gold standard child cancer treatment in West Africa and are training colleagues in other African countries.
In rural Scotland advanced nurse practitioner Henrietta Marriott, 60, is hailed as a lifesaver. Besides regular weekend shifts at Invergordon Community Hospital, she is also a Basics (British Association for Immediate Care Scotland) responder supporting the Scottish Ambulance Service.
She volunteers with the Scotland-wide network of highly-trained professionals – doctors, advanced nurses and paramedic practitioners – to attend 999 calls in remote areas.
Patients include seriously injured road victims and people suffering cardiac arrests and sepsis.
She walked two miles in freezing temperatures up a hillside to an injured walker with hypothermia then persuaded a local farmer to help transport him on a trailer.
Desperately ill children and their families are core to the work of paediatric critical care nurse leader Judith Watson.
Her pioneering work at the Royal Hospital for Children in Edinburgh to support parents during some of the painful times of their lives has ensured they always feel included and supported.
A patient applauded the nurse leader’s breastfeeding guidance and emotional support saying she couldn’t be praised enough for her ability to care for people and families as well as their medical conditions.
The winner will be announced at the annual awards on June 21.
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