National Outstanding Achievement Award For Candice

Further national recognition has been awarded to Bourne community nurse Candice Pellett.

Candice, a Senior Case Manager and Community Practice Educator from Lincolnshire Community Health Services NHS Trust (LCHS), was one of five nurses to collect The Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother, Award for Outstanding Service last week.

The award from the Queen's Nursing Institute (QNI) is presented to nurses who have given service to patients and the profession, over and above the call of duty, and have made a particularly distinguished contribution to the health of people in the community.

The late Queen Mother took great personal interest in this award and it is in honour of her memory, that as patron of The Queen’s Nursing Institute, Her Majesty the Queen agreed that the award could be made in perpetuity.

Candice started her career as a nursing auxiliary in 1989, and entered nursing training in 1992. She gained her district nursing specialist degree in 1999 and has held the Queen's Nurse title for seven years. She received an OBE for her services to nursing earlier this year.

Candice said: “This has been a very special year for me and I feel very humbled and privileged to be recognised for my work. It gives me great pleasure to be able to continue working in Bourne while representing Lincolnshire and community nursing on a national platform.

"When I started working as a bank nursing auxiliary, it wasn't even on my radar to even train to become a fully qualified nurse, let alone work nationally. However, once I began working with patients I knew I wanted to make a difference. It was very inspiring to attend the awards ceremony with my husband and mother and hear everyone else's stories and achievements."

 Kay Darby, Interim Chief Executive at LCHS, said: "We would like to congratulate Candice for her achievements. She is an excellent ambassador for the trust and our services and we are very proud to be able to say we have nurses like Candice delivering this level of dedication and care to patients across the county."

QNI Chief Executive, Dr Crystal Oldman, said: "The QNI’s Award for Outstanding Service is a highly prestigious award for community nurses that indicates an exceptional degree of professionalism and dedication to patients and colleagues. On behalf of the QNI I would like to congratulate Candice Pellett on this achievement."