Teesside community nurse recognised with long service award

Mel Cambage, who has been a nurse for more than 25 years and is the trust’s associate director of nursing experience and improvement, received the award from the Queen’s Nursing Institute.

“If it wasn’t for a district nursing sister named Maureen, who I was allocated to in my second student placement, I would not have continued in nursing”

Mel Cambage

The QNI Long Service Award is available to community nurses across all specialties after completing 21 years of service in England, Wales, Northern Ireland, the Isle of Man or the Channel Islands.

Ms Cambage, who also became a Queen’s Nurse four years ago, has credited the care shown by a nurse mentor during her training for inspiring her to continue a career in nursing.

“If it wasn’t for a district nursing sister named Maureen, who I was allocated to in my second student placement, I would not have continued in nursing,” she said.

“She was an inspiration and demonstrated to me how to holistically care for a patient and their families and carers in their own home,” said Ms Cambage.

“Maureen and her philosophy of ‘home is best for those who can’ has always stayed with me and has ensured that my community nursing foundations remain true to this concept.”

Through her current role, Ms Cambage has gone on herself to help support nurse careers and has developed the role of practice development leads in the trust’s district nursing service.

Ms Cambage said: “This role ensures all staff new to community nursing have the opportunity to have both group and one to one support to develop the skills to fulfil the role.

“Not only has this helped build competence and confidence within the service but also supported retention of staff particularly those in preceptorship periods,” she added.

She has also supported its district nursing sisters to develop an in-reach service into the hospital and allowing patients to be discharged home safely as soon as they are medically fit to do so.

In addition, she has become a professional nurse advocate (PNA) so she can support staff and deliver restorative supervision for nursing colleagues.

PNAs complete a training programme, launched in March 2021, based on the A-EQUIP model (Advocating for Education and Quality Improvement) initially introduced into midwifery in 2017.

Ms Cambage said: “As a qualified PNA, I am also able to offer wider support to nursing colleagues across community nursing services to provide support with restorative supervision, discussions around quality improvement ideas and supporting career conversations.”