Senior health visitor Heather Ransom is our latest inspirational community nursing leader to be crowned a Queen’s Nurse – one of the highest accolades available to the profession in the country.
The much coveted title from the Queen’s Nurse Institute (QNI) is only granted to highly dedicated nurses who can demonstrate their commitment to providing the highest standards of practice and care and recognises their commitment to ongoing learning, leadership and excellence in healthcare.
Heather was invited to London to receive her badge of honour and Queen’s Nurse title by Professor Deborah Sturdy OBE, Chief Nurse for Adult Social Care and Fellow of the QNI and Royal College of Nursing at the QNI’s awards ceremony on Friday 8 December 2023.
Huge honour
Of the occasion Heather says “Receiving the title of Queen’s Nurse is a huge honour for me. I have always practiced in a way that I consider to be honest, kind, and compassionate and this most prestigious title underpins all of the fundamental values I stand for.”
She adds “Health visitors have a vital role to play in both the NHS and society in general and I feel incredibly proud to have been recognised for the hard work and dedication I have given to my service and the families I work with, constantly striving to learn and improve my practice throughout my health visiting career.”
Marie Huscroft, Matron and Lead for Newcastle’s 0-19 Service says “Heather is a truly inspirational Health Visitor and Community nurse leader. She has been a colleague of mine for over 13 years starting when she was a practice nurse and I was a Health Visitor.
Since then Heather has always stood out as a leader in the community, always striving to ensure the best care for our babies, children and young people.
Marie Huscroft, Matron and Lead for Newcastle’s 0-19 Service
“Everything she does is always at a Gold Standard and with the upmost compassion for the families, colleagues and the teams she leads. Her Queen’s Nurse title is so well deserved and celebrates Heather’s commitment to quality and safest community care.”
Heather has over 30 years’ experience as a qualified nurse and health visitor, working in both acute secondary care and in the community. Her nursing career started in 1984 when she became an Enrolled Nurse, followed by a conversion course to become a Registered Adult Nurse joining the team at the RVI’s A&E.
After moving away from the North East for a period of time – firstly to Norwich then to Australia – Heather returned to Newcastle and took a career break to start a family before returning to nursing, firstly a practice nurse and then as a staff nurse in health visiting.
It was here where Heather found her calling and after completing her training, she qualified as a Health Visitor in 2012. She was promoted seven years later and now works part-time as a Cluster Co-ordinator and Senior Health Visitor, working with families who have complex needs as well as routine health visiting work.
“As a clinician I relish the challenge that working with the most vulnerable in society brings”, explains Heather. “Collaborating with colleagues in a multi-agency arena is, I believe, the best way to improve outcomes for those families and children.”
Setting foundations for life-long learning
Heather is responsible for the day to day operational management of the Newcastle 0-19 service in a defined geographical location and is the lead practitioner for the recruitment and selection of apprentice health visitors and public health school nurses, and is also the named assessor for students at all levels.
She says she finds this responsibility challenging yet extremely rewarding, being able to support both pre and post registration nurses to ensure they have the best experience, benefiting from the most effective learning opportunities to enable them to grow as practitioners.
Heather explains “I work hard to develop positive relationships with students, communicating effectively using coaching and motivational interviewing techniques to draw out the best from them as I believe that leads to a greater learning experience and sets the foundation for life-long learning.”
She adds “I regularly audit the experiences of both students and staff, being very aware of the increased workload in the current climate where Health Visiting numbers are at an all-time low. Seeking feedback allows me to develop the practice placement element of training and I have recently introduced rotational placements for SCPHN students.
“This has been positively evaluated by students, colleagues at local Higher Education Institutions, and practitioners in practice. Developing the practice experience for students is fundamental to ensuring that they are delivering safe and evidenced based care, feel confident in their role and it will aid staff retention.”
National recognition from Nursing Times
Heather works closely with colleagues in the leadership team to plan, innovate and respond to the needs of the community to ensure the service is safe, with forward thinking strategies to ensure staff can continue to deliver high standards. She also liaises with local Higher Educational Institutions (HEIs) to develop new educational strategies to ensure high quality training and support for the workforce of the future.
Heather says this was particularly challenging during the Covid 19 pandemic. “I collaborated with neighbouring colleagues and our local HEI to develop a virtual 0-19 placement for pre-registration students ensuring that they could still experience the variety that our role encompasses.
“All disciplines of the Health Visiting and School Nursing Team took part to share their wealth of knowledge and experience, making the virtual experience as real as possible. This was incredibly well received by the students, was shortlisted for a Student Nursing Times Award and on the back of its success we continued to roll out this new approach to the training programme over the summer.”
Influencing the road ahead
When asked what she loves most about her job Heather says it’s the diverse variety, her colleagues and the families she works with. “I love the city where I grew up and now work, yet Newcastle has some of the highest levels of deprivation in England. 0-19 services can have a positive impact through the delivery of the Healthy Child Programme. However, this cannot be done in isolation.
“Working collaboratively with colleagues in partner agencies is key to the success of any sustained change. As a leader in Health Visiting locally I have a strong network of support from colleagues and strengthened relationships with partner agencies promoting the role of the 0-19 service.
“I am ready for a new challenge and would relish the opportunity to influence the road ahead for community nursing and specifically health visiting.
My vision is to develop innovative ways of engaging with and supporting ‘hard to reach’ families to give them a better chance of breaking the cycle of inter-generational social and health deprivation.
Heather Ransom, Senior Health Visitor and Queen's Nurse
“I am confident that becoming a Queen’s Nurse will afford me the opportunity to do this. Developing links with like-minded practitioners will stimulate discussion and debate around issues and challenges facing community nurses across the country. I look forward to learning from others from different clinical backgrounds and understanding how I can adapt their ideas to inspire my own.”
Dr Crystal Oldman CBE, the Chief Executive of The QNI said: “Congratulations to all those nurses who have just received the title of Queen’s Nurse. You join a wonderful, supportive national network of nurses committed to learning, leadership, and providing excellent care for the people they serve.
What is a Queen’s Nurse?
The Queen’s Nurse programme brings together community nurses to develop their professional skills and deliver outstanding patient care in the community.
The Queen’s Nurse Award honours nurses who have demonstrated a high level of commitment to patient-centred values and nursing practice.
Queen’s nurses demonstrate integrity, honesty and compassion whilst delivering the highest quality care to the benefit of individuals, carers, families, communities and peers.
They communicate in a manner which encourages the trust of individuals, offer holistic, personalised care which acknowledges, and is tailored to, the needs of the client.
Queen’s nurses also act as an inspiring role model to peers and professional colleagues and are committed to the development of community nursing by providing learning and leadership opportunities.
