A pancreas specialist nurse at East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust has been crowned the regional winner of the Nursing and Midwifery category at the NHS Parliamentary Awards – and will now go on to compete for the national prize.
Vicki Stevenson-Hornby is passionate about raising awareness of pancreatic cancer and the need for early diagnosis.
She has been instrumental in supporting the development of the Trust’s diagnostic pathway, helping reduce the time patients wait between referral and confirmed diagnosis.
Her work was put forward for the NHS Parliamentary Awards by local MPs Sir Jake Berry, Nigel Evans, Antony Higginbotham and Andrew Stephenson.
She will now attend a glittering awards ceremony in London on Wednesday, 5 July – the NHS’s 75th birthday – when the winners of the awards will be crowned.
Vicki said: “I am truly delighted to be nominated for this award. I absolutely love my job and it is something which I consider to be a privilege.
“Pancreatic cancer is a ruthless disease which has seen little improvement in survival for many years.
“Awareness of the disease and of the early symptoms is vital and being shortlisted for these awards gives a huge platform to raise awareness of pancreatic cancer which is the real winner here.”
Chief Nurse at ELHT Peter Murphy said: “We are incredibly proud that Vicki has been shortlisted for such a prestigious national award for her tireless work supporting those affected by pancreatic cancer.
“The work she has spearheaded in our Pancreas Rapid Diagnostic Service has seen the time our patients wait between referral and confirmed diagnosis fall by nearly half.
“Not only has she had an integral role in improving the diagnostic pathway and enhancing patient care for those affected by pancreatic cancer, she has also gone above and beyond to raise awareness for this disease – including but not limited to dying her hair purple every November for pancreatic cancer awareness month.
“Congratulations, Vicki, on winning the regional nomination and best of luck at the national awards next month.”
You can read more about Vicki and other inspirational colleagues and patients in East Lancashire on ELHT’s Instagram page here and here.