Advanced nurse practitioner is RCN Northern Ireland Nurse of the Year 2024

A nurse from Armagh has won the RCN Northern Ireland Nurse of the Year Award 2024 for her work in improving care for patients with heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF).

Edith Donnelly was presented with the award by Health Minister Mike Nesbitt MLA and RCN Northern Ireland Executive Director, Rita Devlin, at a special ceremony held at the Culloden Hotel, Holywood last month.

Based in the Southern Health and Social Care Trust, Edith recognised a gap in service provision for people living with HFpEF and identified the need to treat them early.

She has made an immeasurable impact on this group of patients who are now being correctly diagnosed with Edith providing holistic and person-centred assessment, treatment, education and follow-up.

Patients are experiencing lower hospital admissions and a better quality of life as a result. Many of these patients would otherwise have gone unrecognised and undertreated.

Edith’s nominator says that patients feel able to engage with her service and make decisions about their care and says Edith “worked tirelessly and passionately for this group of patients, seeing the human story behind every person who walked through her door”, practising “with knowledge, compassion and empathy”.

Runner-up on the evening was Suzie McCullagh, an Occupational Health Nurse Specialist in the Belfast Trust.

Suzie was awarded for making an exceptional contribution to occupational health nursing, a critical but often overlooked area.

She has been relentless in pursuing change and service improvement, including the management of infectious diseases, setting up a nurse-led skin clinic and overhauling the reporting of sharps injuries. 

Two new awards were launched this year including the Digital Innovation in Nursing Award sponsored by Digital Health and Care NI.

David McAuley, Mental Health Practitioner at Causeway GP Federation won the award for a groundbreaking online initiative which provides a one stop platform for patients to find health information and services.

There were two winners of the Palliative Care Nursing Award, sponsored by Marie Curie. Lisa Cassidy and Lynda Cox represented a team of clinical nurse specialists in the Northern Trust who were awarded for the specialist palliative care and support they provide to patients.

Roisin O’Toole and Alyson Wilson from the Belfast Trust lead the delivery of palliative care within the Trust’s care home team.

They were awarded for improving residents' experiences and reducing unnecessary emergency department attendances across the sector.

Professor Donna Fitzsimons from Queen’s University, Belfast won the prestigious Kathleen Robb Award for outstanding contribution to nursing, sponsored by the Northern Ireland Practice and Education Council.

Health Minister Mike Nesbitt paid tribute to the nursing profession. He said: “I want to thank all of you for your contribution to our health service and I am delighted to pay tribute to some of the extraordinary individuals within the nursing profession. You play such a positive role in the lives of so many here in Northern Ireland.

“Your hard work fully deserves the recognition that this awards ceremony brings and I was truly honoured to be part of the RCN Nurse of the Year celebrations.

“I and my department are committed to supporting and valuing our nurses and health care support workers, and providing them with the respect, resources and recognition they so rightfully deserve.”

RCN Northern Ireland Executive Director, Rita Devlin, added: “Edith has designed a nurse-led service which is an outstanding example of how nurses across Northern Ireland are leading and improving patient care.

“Edith’s commitment to her patients is inspirational and she has made a huge impact on their quality of life.

“Each year these awards showcase the skills and expertise we have in Northern Ireland and how nursing staff are striving to deliver the highest quality care and service to patients.

“Many congratulations to all our finalists who have demonstrated the very best of nursing in Northern Ireland.”