Northampton hospital nurse ‘shocked’ at receiving top award for providing ‘outstanding’ end-of-life care

A nurse from Northampton General Hospital (NGH) has received a prestigious national award for her work in supporting patients and their families in end-of-life care.

NGH’s deputy lead nurse for palliative care, Kerry Messam, has won a Chief Nursing Officer for England Silver Award, which recognises major contributions to patient care and the nursing profession.

Kerry, who has been involved in leading end-of-life care at NGH for 15 years, said: “I was completely shocked to be presented with a Chief Nursing Officer Silver Award.

“It is a privilege to be able to champion the needs of both patients and carers at the end of life.

“We acknowledge how physically and emotionally difficult being with a dying person can be. Having the opportunity to implement new initiatives to support both patients and families is an honour in itself.

“None of these initiatives would be possible without the support of my colleagues across the Trust. I would just like to say a huge thank you for the nomination and recognition of the importance of end-of-life care for our hospital.”

NGH’s interim director of nursing, Debra Shanahan, nominated Kerry for the award.

In her nomination, she commended Kerry for leading a trust-wide ‘Walking the Walk’ project, which follows the journey of a carer from the time their loved one is admitted to the trust to when they arrive at the mortuary.

The interim director said that Kerry’s project ensured a diverse range of carers were represented in the experience and advocated for.

Debra said: “Kerry is an outstanding nurse and patient advocate. During the Covid-19 pandemic she has continued to transform our end-of-life care service.”

Kerry was additionally praised for creating ‘Swan Rooms’ - dedicated rooms for protected care for end-of-life patients and their relatives.

The Swan Rooms have a number of features to improve patient experiences such as pull-out chairs to enable carers to rest, phone chargers, LED candles and visually appealing decor. The rooms are now being piloted and Debra says it is already clear to see the positive impact they are having on both patients and carers.

Debra added: “Kerry is a strong advocate for patients and their carers and thoroughly deserves her national award.”

Kerry has also introduced a specialist palliative care team dedicated to Urgent Care to ensure patients are identified early and, where appropriate, supported in the community rather than being admitted to hospital.

Kerry was presented with her award on Tuesday, August 16 by deputy chief nursing officer for England and chief nurse for Health Education England, Professor Mark Radford.

Professor Radford said: “I was delighted to visit Northampton General Hospital today and to present Kerry with a CNO Silver Award in recognition of her incredible work

“Kerry has led so many innovations to help improve patient care, including important work in end-of-life care and bereavement, offering support to patients and their families during the most difficult times.

“Congratulations to Kerry on this award and I look forward to seeing her work alongside the amazing teams at Northampton General Hospital continue.”