Nicky Richards, who works as a Memory Assessment Nurse at EPUT’s Brentwood Memory Service in a career spanning over three decades, has been given the title of Queen’s Nurse which is granted by the Queen’s Nursing Institute for those delivering and leading outstanding care in communities.
After putting forward a 3,000-word submission and demonstrating the five key values of a Queen’s Nurse, as well as feedback statements from senior colleagues and patients families, Nicky got the good news that she had met the stringent criteria and had been successful.
She will officially be honoured with the award on the 29th November 2024 at a ceremony in South Kensington.
Nicky has worked in her current role at EPUT for the last 15 months and is hoping to use her new title to promote awareness of Mental Health, Dementia and Frailty.
She said: “It is an honour and a privilege to be successful in my application to become a Queen’s Nurse and be part of the world’s oldest Nursing Charity, which is dedicated to improving the nursing care of people at home and in the community.
“After 36 years of Nursing, gaining the Queen’s Nurse Title motivates me to keep on learning and improving my clinical practice. Being a Queen’s Nurse enables me to better network with other disciplines of community nursing to share ideas, knowledge and good practice as well as reflect on untoward incidents and lessons learnt.
“I hope to inspire my work colleagues to apply to become Queen’s Nurses and build a network of shared visions, innovations and best practice.
“As a Queen’s Nurse, I would like to promote awareness of Mental Health, Dementia and Frailty and help tackle barriers such as fear and stigma that prevent patients accessing timely health care and work toward seamless integrated service provisions, with our allied health and social care colleagues.”