UHNM relaunches the DAISY Award to celebrate extraordinary nurses

University Hospitals of North Midlands (UHNM) has officially relaunched the prestigious DAISY Award, inviting patients, families and colleagues to celebrate the exceptional care delivered by nurses and midwives.

The internationally recognised award shines a light on the compassion, professionalism and dedication shown by nursing and midwifery staff every day, celebrating those who go above and beyond for patients and their loved ones.

To mark the relaunch, UHNM nurse Rebecca Ferneyhough was presented a DAISY Award on International Nurses Day for her quick thinking and life-saving actions. 

Rebecca, Professional Lead for Quality/Operations, saved the life of 82-year-old Graham Scott after he suffered a cardiac arrest while queuing in a fish and chip shop in Newcastle-under-Lyme. Rebecca who was off duty and visiting the shop with her son, immediately stepped in to perform CPR. 

Thanks to her swift response, Graham, a great-grandfather of eight, made a full recovery and has since returned to his role as a lollipop man at Hempstalls Primary School, a job he has done for the past 25 years. 

Graham said: “It’s an absolute honour to see Becky receive this award, she deserves nothing less as she is such a special lady to me and my family. Thanks to Becky I am back on my feet and being back at work gives me a purpose again. I feel wonderful, the children are my medicine and it brings me so much joy to see them every day. Now that life is back to normal, it is such a pleasure to see Becky again as she is fantastic and someone I will never forget.”

Ann-Marie Riley, Chief Nurse at UHNM, said: “Earlier this year, we were proud to present a DAISY Award to recognise exceptional nursing care at UHNM. That marked the restart of our journey with the DAISY programme and to mark International Nurses Day I am delighted that we are formally relaunching the DAISY Award Trust-wide with another presentation. 

“Every day across UHNM our nurses make an extraordinary difference to patients and families through their compassion, kindness and clinical excellence. What Becky did that day is nothing short of extraordinary so it is such a pleasure to award her with the prestigious DAISY Award.” 

Fiona Hibberts, UHNM Deputy Chief Nurse, added: “Becky is an outstanding nurse, committed to delivering safe patient care across our hospitals over many years. Although she was off duty she responded instinctively and her actions saved a life. She demonstrated the very best of our profession, living our Trust values both in and out of work. Her swift response and decisive actions make her truly deserving of the DAISY Award.”

Rebecca said: “It is such a privilege to receive the DAISY award and see Graham again. He’s an amazing man and to see him back doing what he loves is really special. A miracle happened that day, I happened to be in the right place at the right time and even though it was daunting to give CPR in public you have to be brave and confident and I would encourage everyone to learn how to do CPR.”

The DAISY Foundation is a not-for-profit organisation established in the USA, in memory of J. Patrick Barnes, by members of his family. Patrick died at the age of 33 from complications of Idiopathic Thrombocytopenic Purpura (ITP) which is an auto-immune disease. The care Patrick and his family received from nurses while he was ill inspired this way of thanking nurses for making a profound difference in the lives of their patients and their families. The Daisy Award has been adopted by healthcare facilities around the world to celebrate nurses for their extraordinary care and compassion.

UHNM also took the opportunity to launch its new Diamond Award for non registered clinical works, presenting a handful of badges and certificates to healthcare workers who have been praised for the care and compassion provided to patients in their care. 

If anyone would like to nominate a nurse, midwife or healthcare worker for either a Daisy Award or a Diamond Award, they can do so at: https://www.uhnm.nhs.uk/surveys/daisy-award/