Thursday 4th May, 2017

Tauranga Nurse Wins National Award

A young Tauranga Hospital nurse has won a national award for emerging leaders.

Registered Nurse Leigh Youngman picked up the Health Quality & Safety Commission’s Open for Leadership award yesterday (Wednesday 3rd) for a patient-focussed quality improvement initiative.

Her initiative allows patients with a fractured ankle, who meet specific criteria, to return home while they wait for their operation, rather than spend that time in hospital.

“Because I work in orthopaedics I wanted to do something specific to that,” said Leigh. “One of the areas I saw for improvement was allowing patients to go home prior to surgery. Those with ankle fractures usually spend 5-7 days in a ward because their swelling means they have to wait to be operated on.

“I talked to patients who were in the ward while I was developing this, and a large majority said they’d prefer to be at home.”

The criteria for returning home pre-surgery includes: living close to the hospital; having support people at home; having a physio assessment which shows they can be mobile and use crutches; and having the ability to manage their pain with medication.

Leigh developed the programme while completing her Honours Degree in Nursing. She said news of the award had come as a surprise.

‘I didn’t actually know I’d been nominated, so I felt totally privileged when I found out. I was a little bit shocked but I’m absolutely stoked.’

Leigh received the trophy from HQSC General Manager Karen Orsborn, in front of an audience including her mum and stepdad, Bay of Plenty District Health Board (BOPDHB) Board Chair Sally Webb and BOPDHB Chief Executive Helen Mason.

“We feel extremely lucky to have Leigh on our team. The impact she is having on improving services for our community is admirable. It was lovely to hear Leigh acknowledge the support she has received from her team in achieving this award. We are continuously looking for ways to improve services, and it’s great to have the opportunity to celebrate that today.”

Caption: HQSC General Manager Karen Orsborn presents Registered Nurse Leigh Youngman with the Open for Leadership award.

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