NURSES at the county’s hospitals are celebrating after being named Workforce Team of the Year at a prestigious national awards ceremony.

The Nursing Times Award, awarded to the Professional Development Team at Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust last week (Thursday, October 4), recognises the excellent work which supports the nursing and midwifery workforce.

The team were celebrated for a number of successful schemes they have put in place with the aim of creating a supportive environment for nurses and midwives, with opportunities to continue to develop their skills at all stages of their career.

This has included the opening of a state of the art simulation ward for training and development, the introduction of a structured preceptorship programme for new nurses, and an innovative new scheme to introduce Learning Disability and Mental Health nurses directly to the hospital wards.

A new approach to international recruitment has also seen nursing and midwifery vacancies reduce and there has been an improvement in nurse and midwife retention.

Vicky Morris, chief nursing officer at the Trust, said: “We are absolutely thrilled to win this award as we were up against extremely strong competition. Ensuring we have a strong, dynamic, fit for purpose nursing and midwifery workforce who are supported to deliver safe and high quality care to our patients in line with our quality improvement strategy is one of our key aims.

“Our Professional Development Team past and present continue to develop innovative ways to ensure our nurses and midwives are supported in their learning and this award celebrates the tremendous amount of hard work that has already been done in this area.

“Further, it recognises that the Trust is a great employer and will ensure we can attract the best candidates to our team.”