AWP nurse recognised for outstanding care at national awards

AWP nurse recognised for outstanding care at national awards

An AWP nurse was recognised for their outstanding care this week, after picking up a national award.

ECT Lead Nurse, Caroline White, won the prestigious BBC Radio 4 All in the Mind Awards, after being nominated by a patient.

Caroline, who is based at Callington Road, was nominated in the professional category by Katrina, a consultant at the Bristol Royal Infirmary, who waived her anonymity to tell her story, and to encourage and reassure others who might be suffering with mental ill-health.

Katrina said: "Caroline was extremely caring and kind throughout my illness, she helped me manage the memory loss and provided support reassuring me things would improve, Caroline never made me feel I was a bother or a problem, quite the opposite in fact."

You can listen back to the moment that Caroline won on BBC Sounds here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m002dzfp?partner=uk.co.bbc&origin=share-mobile

Caroline said: "I feel very honoured just to have been nominated for these awards, and to have been selected as a finalist was quite incredible.

“I’m very grateful to Katrina our service user who nominated me for this award. She’s a medical professional herself, a Consultant respiratory Doctor, and she’s waived her anonymity to tell her story. She took the trouble to write the nomination because she wanted to start a conversation to address the stigma around mental illness and also the stigma that surrounds ECT treatment itself. I think this was an incredibly brave and generous thing to do and needs to be commended.”

Electroconvulsive therapy, or ECT, is a medical treatment most commonly used in patients with severe major depression or bipolar disorder that has not responded to other treatments. ECT involves a brief electrical stimulation of the brain while the patient is under anaesthesia. It is typically administered by a team of trained medical professionals that includes a psychiatrist, an anaesthesiologist, and a nurse or physician assistant.

All in the Mind is a weekly magazine programme about psychology and psychiatry, presented by Claudia Hammond. Earlier in June, Claudia visited Caroline and Katrina at Callington Road, to discuss ECT and what makes Caroline’s care so special. You can listen to the longer interview with Caroline and Katrina here: www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m002d0c4

“I found the prospect of being interviewed for the programme very nerve-wracking,” Caroline explained, “but at the same time I realised what a worthwhile opportunity this would be to showcase the service we provide, and to promote ECT in a positive light. Representing my team, our service, and my profession on national radio was a huge responsibility.”

The All in the Mind annual awards feature three categories – personal, professional, and group. Caroline was one of the three finalists in the professional category, and all were worthy finalists.