Royal Trinity Hospice's team of Dementia Nurse Specialists who have transformed the end of life care of people with dementia in south west and central London has been shortlisted for a prestigious UK award.

The dementia team at Trinity is a finalist in the Nursing Older People category of the RCNi Nurse Awards 2019. The profession’s top accolade for nursing excellence attracted almost 700 entries this year.

The team will find out whether it has won at a ceremony in the Westminster Park Plaza Hotel, London, on July 3. The RCN Nurse of the Year 2019, selected from all the category winners, will be announced on the night.

Members Helen Brewerton, Sarah Priestley, Nuno Santos Lopes and Karen McIvor provide symptom control and psychosocial, welfare and carer support, and patients have access to respite care. Patients with dementia and their carers are able to self-refer.

As a result of their efforts, an additional dementia nurse specialist has been added and advance care planning prioritised.

The team has reduced unnecessary hospital admissions and made it possible for 69% of those they supported to die in their preferred place. Nearly 50% of these were at home, compared with an average in England of 8%.

Helen Brewerton says:

"It is a real accolade to have been shortlisted. The work of the dementia team at Trinity is a vital part of the challenge to ensure that dementia is understood as a palliative diagnosis. And being a finalist in these awards will help us spread the message to other providers that there is a need for equitable access to, and provision of, palliative care to people with dementia."

The award is supported by RCNi journal Nursing Older People. RCNi managing director Rachel Armitage says:

"Nurses in all areas are increasingly under pressure but they still deliver exceptional innovation and outstanding, compassionate patient care day in, day out.

The RCNi Nurse Awards are a chance to recognise the achievements of nurses like Helen and her team and showcase nursing excellence.

Our judging panel has faced an almost impossible task in selecting a shortlist from hundreds of high-quality entries this year. We look forward to celebrating the strength and diversity of our profession at the awards in July."

Find out more about our dementia care