Weymouth nurse picks up national award
Jane Hill's worked in the profession for 24 years
A nurse who works in Weymouth has been honoured with a national award.
Health visitor Jane Hill, has been named as a Queen's Nurse by the community nursing charity The Queen's Nursing Institute.
That recognised both past service, along with an ongoing commitment to high standards in patient care, learning and leadership throughout a person’s career.
Jane’s journey as a nurse started in Poole in 1978, carrying out her training in hospitals and community settings across Dorset.
After qualifying, her career took her from Glasgow to Southampton and back to Dorset again.
She has specialised in neurological nursing, completed a nursing degree and MBA, worked in intensive care and then worked as a nurse educator for many years.
After starting a family, Jane opted to retrain as a health visitor and has worked across Dorset in the role since 1999. She said:
“Despite many changes over the years, I still love being a health visitor and always try to make a difference for the families we work with. It’s a great job and privilege.
“As health visitors we work really hard – often unnoticed – assessing and supporting children and families to live their best lives. The key is listening to what someone is saying and exploring it. Sometimes it’s just about telling someone they are doing a good job – being a parent is hard, yet many people forget about all the challenges it involves.
“I enjoy trying to support families to make a difference for themselves, helping people tackle issues such as low mood, addiction, domestic abuse, having a child with additional needs or feeling anxiety around becoming a parent. It’s such a diverse role and different every day.”
Dawn Dawson, Chief Nursing Officer at Dorset HealthCare, said:
“We are really proud of Jane. The Queen’s Award reflects her dedication and commitment to providing the best level of care possible for our clients and their children.
“At the same time, I’d like to thank all of our nurses for what they do. Whatever the setting, wherever the location, whomever the patient, the one thing all nursing staff have in common is their unwavering commitment to make a difference to people's lives. Not just their patients, but their patients’ families and loved ones too.
“Three years on since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, our nurses continue to work in extremely challenging circumstances, but their patients remain the priority.”