A DAY of celebration and learning for nurses across the county will culminate in the presentation of the British Empire Medal to one of the nurses by the Lord Lieutenant of Gloucestershire.

Gloucestershire Care Services NHS Trust, which provides a range of community services, has organised this nursing celebration event to recognise the achievements of nurses within the Trust, and share best practice with colleagues from across the county.

Annie MacCallum, one of our heart failure nurses and head of specialist services at the Trust, was awarded the British Empire Medal in the Queen’s Birthday Honours list in June for her services to nursing.

She will be presented with her award by Dame Janet Trotter at the culmination of the event, being held at the Thistle Hotel, Cheltenham, on Thursday, November 5.

Susan Field, Director of Nursing, will open the day with a discussion on the future of nursing at the Trust, ahead of workshops on living with dementia, preventing and managing falls and caring for people with respiratory conditions.

Susan said: “Nurses are fundamental to many of the services our Trust provides and we believe that championing their work and providing greater opportunities for them to shape the future of nursing is extremely important.

“I’m delighted that we will also have a session by a patient’s family on their experiences of community nursing care, to highlight some of the great practice that is going on day in, day out across community nursing services.

“Annie is someone who has had a fantastic career and made a real difference to healthcare, both in Gloucestershire and across the country with her national involvement in heart failure care. We are all delighted to be highlighting Annie’s achievements at our nursing celebration event, as she continues to be an inspiration for many of our nurses.”

The event is running from 8.30am to 4.30pm.

Annie’s British Empire Medal presentation will begin at 4pm.