Top honour for Macmillan nurse

Summer 2012

Macmillan Lung Cancer Clinical Nurse Specialist Tessa Fitzpatrick has been awarded The Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother Award for outstanding service|.

Presented by the Queen’s Nursing Institute, the award is given to nurses who provide exceptional care to their patients and demonstrate a continuing passion and enthusiasm that advances community nursing.

 

She was nominated by her colleagues Helen Caudren, Macmillan Occupational Therapist, and Jeanette Draffan, Macmillan Lung CNS.

 

Helen says, ‘When colleagues describe Tessa they use the words dedicated, passionate, caring, fountain of knowledge, inspirational, supportive and empathetic. Her approach to work goes far beyond the level which would ordinarily be expected from her role.’

 

Jeanette explained that, ‘When Tessa established the Macmillan North Tees Lung Cancer Nursing service 14 years ago, it was with the knowledge that the prognosis of people with lung cancer was particularly poor. Her vision for her role was to support patients and carers right from the start of the diagnosis, through palliative care and end-of-life, both in primary and secondary care settings.’

 

Tessa’s determination and commitment has seen her introduce a variety of patient-focused projects including a lung cancer support group, which has now been running for eight years, and more recently a support group for people with mesothelioma.

 

 

She also designed an in-reach/outreach service to ensure that patients receive continuity of care wherever they went.

As Tessa’s service developed her ambition to provide such an exceptional provision to patients meant that a second Macmillan lung cancer nurse specialist was employed.