‘Delighted and humbled’: Hull academic named a Queen’s Nurse
HONOURED: Heather Pepper at the awards ceremony in London
By Simon Bristow
University of Hull academic Heather Pepper has been awarded the prestigious title of Queen’s Nurse by one of the world’s oldest nursing organisations.
The title, given by The Queen’s Nursing Institute, is awarded to individual nurses who have demonstrated a high level of commitment to patient care, learning and leadership.
Nurses, health visitors and midwives with five years’ experience working in and with the community are eligible for the title.
The Queen’s Nursing Institute is the oldest professional nursing organisation in the UK and believed to be the oldest nursing charity in the world.
Heather, a lecturer in acute care nursing, said: “I am both delighted and humbled to have been awarded the title of Queen’s Nurse. It means so much to me – and I really want to thanks all my colleagues in the Faculty of Health Sciences at the university who have helped me achieve this.
COMMITTED TO RAISING STANDARDS: Heather Pepper, who qualified as a nurse in 2008
“For me, it has always been an honour and a privilege to work with the community, but equally, it has been clear there is still much work to be done to support our communities in relation to nursing and patient care.
“I hope that as a Queen’s Nurse I can continue to raise the standards of nursing care, support the local community including student nurses, nurses and practice partners, as well as promote excellence in practice.
“As a committed nurse being acutely aware of both primary and secondary care, my aim is to continue to bridge the gap between primary and secondary care and raise our standards, not only supporting our student nurses but also supporting our nurses and practice partners to continue the amazing work they do.”
Heather, who attended an official awards ceremony in London, qualified as a registered nurse in 2008, specialising in critical care until 2014 when she made the change to community nursing as the lead practice nurse for a local GP surgery.
Throughout this time she worked in primary care and in academia at the University of Lincoln, joining the University of Hull in 2019. In Hull, with the support of the team at the Faculty of Health Sciences, Heather continued her work with the community, students and practice partners.
She continues to work closely with the community, often working shifts and volunteering as a girl guiding leader, but mainly providing education, support and leadership to Hull’s nursing community and practice partners.
Heather also has a keen research interest in Genomics, the study of a person’s genes (the genome), including interactions of those genes with each other and with the person’s environment. Heather works towards integrating this research into her practice in the community to help support patients, develop faster and quicker diagnosis and support nurses to deliver the highest quality of nursing care.
Dr Crystal Oldman CBE, chief executive of the QNI, said: “On behalf of the QNI I would like to congratulate Heather Pepper and welcome her as a Queen’s Nurse. Queen’s Nurses serve as leaders and role models in community nursing, delivering high quality health care across the country.
TEAM EFFORT: Heather Pepper, right, with colleagues
“The application and assessment process to become a Queen’s Nurse is rigorous and requires clear commitment to improving care for patients, their families and carers. We look forward to working with Heather and all other new Queen’s Nurses who have received the title this year.”
Heather said: “The awards evening was a wonderful display of recognition towards the Queen’s Nurse title and the hard work required.”
The Queen’s Nursing Institute charity was originally founded to organise the training of district nurses, which was its core function until the 1960s. The charity traces its origins back to 1887 with the grant of £70,000 by Queen Victoria from the Women’s Jubilee Fund.
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A Royal Charter in 1889 named it Queen Victoria’s Jubilee Institute for Nurses and gave it the objective of providing the training, support, maintenance, and supply of nurses for the sick and poor as well as establishing homes and branches.
The charity, which has been called The Queen’s Nursing Institutesince 1973, is based in London and works throughout England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
The Queen’s Nursing title promotes excellent nursing care for everyone, where and when they need it, provided by nurses and their teams with specific skills and knowledge.
Through the national network of Queen’s Nurses, who are committed to the highest standards of care, there is a focus on funding nurses’ own ideas to improve patient care and supporting development through training programmes. Nurses who hold the title benefit from developmental workshops, bursaries, networking opportunities, and a shared professional identity.
The institute also publishes research into nursing practice, workforce and education, to improve knowledge and standards. Influencing government policy makers and employers and campaigning for high quality services, offering educational grants to enhance nurse’s clinical knowledge, supporting and helping retired community nurses in times of financial need are also a priority.