The Good Nurse Award winner must demonstrate outstanding levels of commitment to patient care and put the patient at the heart of what they do.

Entrants can be from any health care profession, and can work anywhere, from community care to surgical theatres.

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Here are your finalists:

Sue Sharp

SUE Sharp has been employed as a metastatic breast cancer Community Nurse Specialist by St Richard’s Hospice for the last six and a half years. She works as a member of the Community Nurse Specialist team; however, her role is unique to St Richard’s in that she works across professional boundaries between the Hospice and the oncology clinics at Worcestershire Royal Hospital.

When not working at the hospital Sue, a secondary breast care nurse, undertakes telephone consultations, home visits and liaises closely with the community and hospital multi-professional teams.

She said: “I feel very privileged to support these patients at an extremely difficult time in their lives. By facilitating their patient pathway, I aim to reduce a fraction of the challenges they face when coping with this diagnosis and treatment.

“I am honoured and humbled to have been nominated and become a finalist for this award.”

Karen Hassall

KAREN Hassall has worked within the NHS for 23 years, starting as a medical secretary in a small GP practice and one day being asked if she would like to apply for a Healthcare Assistant position, working with a team of district nurses... She applied, was offered the post, and hasn’t looked back.

She said: I have worked alongside District Nurses in the community for 17 years looking after patients in their homes. “In October last year, I decided to leave the community and started working with Corbett Medical Practice joining the nursing team. – I love it!

“My nominator, a patient and a neighbour, called out to me one evening asking for help. I, as I would for anyone who needed help, went along to see what I could do. I spent quite some time with him offering medical assistance and support, leaving him safe and comfortable.”

Katie Hunt, Karen’s Nurse Manager at Corbett Medical Practice said: “Karen has a heart of gold and deserves this nomination. “She is kind, caring and very passionate about her job and her patient care is second to none.”

Abigail Turner

ABIGAIL Turner works at the Droitwich Dental Studio, a busy practice right in the heart of the High Street. Droitwich Dental Studio is a purpose-built practice with all the latest technology and materials available in all aspects of dentistry to ensure patients’ teeth and oral health is the best it can possibly be.

Its owner AJ said: “Abigail is a true angel who always looks on life in a positive way.” The practice does not take NHS patients but instead offers an affordable monthly membership scheme to keep prices to a minimum. AJ said: “People can tend to worry that if they don’t find an NHS dentist, it won’t be affordable - we prove that’s not the case”.

The purpose-built practice prides itself on high-end and specialist dental procedures with the latest technology and materials in all aspects of dentistry, all the while being in a calming and luxurious environment.

Equipment includes a 3D CT scanner, a hygienist room for those intensive cleans and a top-of-the range microscope which is one of only a few in the whole country.