A heart failure specialist nurse working for Leicestershire Partnership NHS Trust (LPT) has received the international DAISY Award for care that was “excellent, personalised and consistent” to a long-term patient.

The DAISY Awards are an international recognition programme that honours and celebrates the exceptional care that many nurses and midwives provide every day.

Gemma Slack, a heart failure specialist nurse based in Syston, was nominated for the prestigious award by her patient’s granddaughter. The nomination reads: “Gemma’s care for our grandad has been phenomenal and the absolute pinnacle of patient-centred care. She has supported our family for a number of years and through many challenges which has been so gratefully received by us all. Her care has been excellent, personalised and consistent throughout her time looking after our grandad, right up until the very end.

“Gemma first became involved around three years ago, when our grandad was diagnosed with heart failure. She was able to quickly build a strong relationship with him. As a family we believe this is due to her genuinely kind, caring nature and honesty – we were never left unclear about any of his needs, and she ensured that grandad understood this too.

“Our grandad was a very old-fashioned gentleman and Gemma treated him with the upmost care and respect while also being able to have a laugh with him, for which he held her in very high regard. She was also a huge advocate for him and ensured that all of his needs were met, not just those relating to his heart failure. Gemma fought fiercely to keep him out of hospital and was able to keep him well for more years than we believed possible! She was so dedicated to his health and wellbeing needs that, after a period of being discharged from the team when he was stable, the transition back into her care was completely seamless when we needed her again.

“Gemma always went above and beyond, but particularly so for his last admission to hospital. We were unavailable that day so she ensured that she explored all of the arrangements required prior to his admission – even down to who would care for his dog whilst he was in hospital! She had thought of absolutely everything and it made it so much easier on us all as a family, massively reducing our worries and keeping Grandad reassured too, who would likely have refused to go into hospital if his dog had not been sorted!

“Unfortunately, our grandad has recently passed away but he was comfortable and peaceful, and we know he felt incredibly supported by Gemma throughout her involvement in his care. We will be eternally grateful for Gemma’s support, advice and care for the last few years. She truly made a difficult time much lighter for us all and gave us quality time together with our grandad for much longer than we could have expected.”

Gemma received her award from Linda Chibuzor, Group chief nurse, and Jane Martin, assistant director for nursing and quality at LPT, accompanied by her colleagues and her nominator.

Gemma shared: “I’m really proud to receive a DAISY Award. The team I work with all provide exceptional care every day and it’s lovely to have this acknowledged. Knowing that people took time when they were grieving to reflect on the care their family received is really special.

“What I love most about being a nurse is helping patients achieve their goals. Being able to see measurable improvements in physical health and supporting patients to understand their condition. I see a lot of patients in their own home and it’s lovely to get to know people’s families and carers.”

You can thank your nurse by making a DAISY Award nomination here: www.leicspart.nhs.uk/about/daisy-award

An acronym for Diseases Attacking the Immune System, The DAISY Foundation was formed in America in November 1999, by the family of J. Patrick Barnes who died at age 33 of complications of Idiopathic Thrombocytopenic Purpura (ITP). The nursing care Patrick received when hospitalised profoundly touched his family.

You can find out more about the DAISY Foundation on their website: www.daisyfoundation.org

Each DAISY Award honouree is recognised at a ceremony in their ward or department and receives a DAISY Award pin, certificate and a hand-carved sculpture A Healer’s Touch, funded by LPT’s charity Raising Health.