A consultant nurse and educationalist has been crowned 'Nurse Leader of the Year' at this year's Nursing Times Awards.

Cliff Evans, who works at Medway hospital's Emergency Department, has been recognised for developing and leading specialist emergency nursing courses which provide staff with a recognised Master of Science or Bachelor of Science specialist qualification.

He said to be nominated and then to win the award was "an incredible honour" and added: "It is also a tribute to the team, who deserve equal recognition, for the hard work and determination we all demonstrate each day to try and get it right first time for our patients.

"I am also extremely proud of the changes and improvements myself and my colleagues have been able to make when it comes to supporting professional development and career advancement.

"The NHS is currently under enormous pressure due to the pandemic, but leadership and teamwork enables us to provide the best of care for our patients, not just now but also over the coming years."

This project is shared with all emergency departments in Kent and has resulted in Medway hospital becoming the South East’s centre of excellence for emergency nurse training.

Out of the trust’s current emergency nurses, 68 hold a specialist qualification and the department now has 186 nursing staff with a turnover of 8% compared to 78 nursing staff with a turnover rate of 24% in 2015.

Medway NHS Foundation Trust chief executive Dr George Findlay said: "To win a national award of this calibre is well-deserved, and publicly recognises all the improvements that Cliff and the rest of the ED team has made to patient care and recruiting and retaining colleagues, all of which has led to improved outcomes for our patients."

Cliff will be representing Medway and presenting alongside Ruth May, chief nursing officer for England, at the Nursing Times Workforce Summit later this month.

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