Community matron wins bronze at British Journal of Nursing Awards

Dawn Douglas, a community matron within the Berwick-upon-Tweed district nursing team, recently won the Bronze Award for Wound Care Nurse of the Year at the 2023 BJN Awards.

The British Journal of Nursing (BJN) Awards is an annual event dedicated to recognising and applauding the hard work and commitment of nursing teams, acknowledging the significant positive impact that they have made on the lives of patients.

Sharing her happiness, Dawn said: “Winning this award is an amazing achievement not only for myself but for the whole community nursing team in Berwick.

“The team have worked very hard to implement positive changes, and this has shown in the positive outcomes and improvement in patient care.

“The recognition has sparked my enthusiasm, as well as the team’s enthusiasm to continue with quality improvement initiatives to ensure the best practice and the implementation of local and national guidelines and recommendations within our area of practice.”

Originally from North Wales where she trained as a nurse, Dawn moved up to the North-East and has worked for Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust for 23 years.

Since she’s been at the trust, Dawn has fulfilled many roles including roles within cardiology and elderly care, before taking on community nursing roles – team lead, and now community matron.

During her time at Berwick Infirmary, she has completed the Specialist District Nursing degree and is now studying for her master’s degree in business administration (MBA) whilst working.

As a community matron, Dawn cares for patients in care homes and within their own homes in the community, working closely with the district nursing team, general practitioners, and wider multi-disciplinary team.

This helps her to identify vulnerable patients and proactively manage their care to improve their health and wellbeing, resulting in less hospital admissions.

Furthermore, she also clinically supervises inclusive leadership to support work and develop quality improvements within her area.

Talking about how she embarked in her nursing career, Dawn said: “From a young age, I always wanted to be a nurse and I’ve naturally progressed to becoming a community matron.

“It enables me to provide complete support and partnership whilst working to improve outcomes for patients with co-existing long-term health conditions.”

She added: “I love being able to make a difference in the lives of patients, as well as supporting colleagues with ongoing development and quality improvement.”