A DEVOTED Worcestershire Royal Hospital nurse and the founder of the Children of Worcester Cancer Fund has been honoured as a regional champion in the national NHS Parliamentary Awards.
Dawn Forbes, a children and young people oncology nurse specialist, will now go head-to-head with other winners from across the country to be judged by a national panel made up of senior leaders representing staff and patients for the chance to win the prestigious national award.
MPs and NHS leaders in the Midlands joined forces to honour health and care staff who have helped to improve treatment for patients and Dawn is one of 10 regional winners from a record number of 750 nominations made across the country.
Dawn set up the Children of Worcester Cancer Fund and raises tens of thousands of pounds to fund various social events each year.
At Christmas, Dawn and her colleagues transformed the children’s clinic into a Winter Wonderland and last year, she arranged a special trip for 150 children and their families to see Cinderella in pantomime at the Swan Theatre in Worcester.
A Charity Ball organised by Dawn in 2021 raised £9,000 and, as part of Harvey’s Gang, she regularly arranges special patient access to our laboratory for children to see their own blood samples being processed.
Dawn’s constant drive to put a smile on the faces of children being treated for cancer and her exceptional standards of care, compassion and commitment was also one of the many reasons she won the Chair’s Special Recognition Award in 2021 and was a finalist for a Patient Choice Award at the 2022 Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust Staff Awards.
“I am humbled to be chosen as regional champion in the NHS Parliamentary Awards,” Dawn said.
“However, I could not go the extra mile without the help and support of so many of my colleagues.
“All the hard work pays off when we see the smiles on the children and their families at the many special event’s we arrange for them.”
Dawn was nominated on behalf of Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS by Worcestershire MP Mark Garnier.
This year, the prestigious NHS Parliamentary Awards will also mark the NHS’s 75th birthday.
Those recognised in the 10 categories, which range from Excellence in Primary Care to the Lifetime Achievement Award, include nurses, mental health teams, NHS volunteers and midwives.
The NHS Parliamentary Awards were established to engage MPs in identifying and highlighting innovative and high-quality care across every constituency in England, and thanking staff for their dedication, hard work and commitment by recognising and honouring their achievements.
Now, the Awards have seen over half of English Members of Parliament nominating an individual or organisation for an award this year.
The awards will be presented at a special ceremony in the House of Commons on July 5.
