Stand up for your patients

In 2019, I was completely overwhelmed when I received the BJN Vascular Access Nurse of the Year Award. Along with many other nurses in the field of vascular access, to be recognised for my work in this field and for my voice to be heard was something I was not used to.

My path towards the award was a difficult one. Vascular access always seemed to be the forgotten specialty. We may be a small cog in some hospitals, but we are the cog that enables all the others to run smoothly. I had been striving hard for 7 years from the creation of the vascular access service to further develop it and had often been met with barriers. I was at a real crossroads when I received my award and winning it was the impetus I needed to inspire me to continue to work towards what I really believe in.

The award helped raise the profile of vascular access within my trust and demonstrated to other staff the commitment that both I and my team were making to try to improve patient safety and patient experience and, ultimately, to reduce harm and improve outcomes. It also provided me with a platform to develop and expand our service further through engagement with a much wider audience across NHS boundaries. For me, the most important part of what we do is to provide a high standard of evidence-based vascular access, with vessel health and preservation care at the forefront of innovation but with the patient at the centre (Hallam et al, 2021).