Exeter matron awarded Queen’s Nurse title
An NHS community matron from Exeter has been awarded the title of Queen’s Nurse.
Rachel Armstrong was given the title by The Queen’s Nursing Institute (QNI) at an awards ceremony at the Royal Garden Hotel in Kensington, London.
The award by the national community nursing charity reflects a commitment to high standards of patient care, learning and leadership.
Rachel, who has been in nursing for 35 years, works as a community matron for the Northern Devon Healthcare NHS Trust.
She is based at The Westbank Practice, which incorporates Starcross Surgery and The Limes Surgery in Exminster.
Her job involves case managing patients with long-term conditions as part of the local community nursing team.
Rachel works closely with nursing staff, GPs, the out-of-hours GP service, social services, voluntary sector, older people’s mental health (OPMH) team, South Western Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust and other partner organisations to support at risk patients to remain independent in their own homes and avoid admission to hospital.
Among other things, she chairs regular palliative care meetings with colleagues and partners to review patients nearing the end of their life, plays an active role in group supervision sessions and supports nursing and medical students in their training.
Rachel, who lives in Exeter, said: “My current role allows for the practice of advanced clinical skills in consultation, assessment such as chest auscultation, independent prescribing, clinical leadership and yet the high patient interface in their own home keeps you grounded and reminds you of what really matters – dignity, compassion, respect and care.
“As well as my clinical practice with patients, I really enjoy supporting students, both medical and nursing.
“We all learn such a great deal from reflecting on each other’s experiences and sharing our knowledge.”
Between 1981 and 1986 Rachel trained in orthopaedic nursing at the former Princess Elizabeth Orthopaedic Hospital in Gras Lawn, Exeter, and in general nursing at Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital (RD&E).
She started out as a staff nurse in oncology and haematology at RD&E from 1986 to 1988.
After two years as a community staff nurse based at Barnfield Hill Surgery, Rachel undertook district nurse training in Plymouth and had a brief stint as a relief district nursing sister in the Exeter locality.
She was a district nursing sister based at Southernhay Practice for four years before a career break from 1995 to 2002 to bring up her family.
After undertaking a return to practice course in Exeter, Rachel joined the district nursing and Hospiscare staff banks for four years before becoming the community matron at Westbank and Ide Lane practices in 2006 and taking on her current role in September 2008.
She said: “Since undertaking my community nursing secondment as part of my general training in 1985, I have been passionate about community care and nursing in the community.
“I feel the principles of keeping patients at the heart of what we do and central in all aspects of our working practice remains unchanged.
“Seeing people in their own environments allows for individualised care to be given, taking account of all their individual beliefs and circumstances.”
As a Queen’s Nurse, Rachel will benefit from developmental workshops, bursaries, networking opportunities and more.
The title is given following an application process which includes feedback about the individual from managers and patients.
Dr Crystal Oldman, chief executive of the QNI, said: “Congratulations are due to Rachel Armstrong for her success.
“Community nurses are expert professionals who make a vital contribution to patient health and wellbeing every day.
“As a national charity the QNI can support them in delivering excellent patient care in their local communities.
“The Queen’s Nurse title is a key part of this and we would encourage other community nurses to apply.”
