Working to reduce the problem of thromboembolism in pregnant women

I was pleased to be nominated and to be a finalist in the Nurse of the Year category of the BJN Awards 2021.

I consider one of my greatest achievements to be my involvement in the setting up of the innovative Joint Specialist Thrombosis Nurse and Midwife Clinic at St George's Hospital in London, part of the St George's University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. Venous thromboembolism (VTE)-related events kill more people a year than AIDS, breast cancer and road traffic accidents combined in England (Coombes, 2005). Women have an increased risk of thrombosis during pregnancy and for 6 weeks postpartum. This collaborative clinic promotes best clinical practice in venous thrombosis prevention in high-risk pregnant women. The project has been presented to the Department of Health, has been shared with other trusts and was acknowledged as the first combined nurse/midwife VTE clinic in the UK.

Together with a midwife colleague, I have also carried out an audit to find out patient compliance with thromboprophylaxis injections postnatally. The audit highlights that the joint clinic helps in the reduction of medication wastage and has increased awareness of thrombosis prevention among high-risk pregnant women.