Pinoy nurse bags top prize at NHS quality award

LONDON - Francis Fernando won the first prize at the NHS Clinical Leaders Network AQuA Henderson Quality Awards in the UK.

He is the first Filipino and the first nurse in the UK to win the award.

Fernando is a trauma and orthopedic nurse at Salisbury NHS Foundation Trust who headed a ten-member team for his project dubbed as ‘Striving for Excellence in the Care of Elderly Patients with Hip Fracture.’ 

The project introduced a successful implementation of service improvements for elderly hip fracture patients leading to specialist medical care and early rehabilitation of patients. It also offered a holistic approach for the physical, emotional and psychological treatment of elderly patients who suffered from hip fractures.

“I just felt very proud that a Filipino nurse has won the award for the first time and a nurse has won this for the first time. I also felt relieved that we could highlight the devastating effect of osteoporosis not only in the UK but also in the world and show the excellent preventative measures that we could implement,” said Fernando. 

The father of three received the award during the Clinical Leaders Network 2012 convention recently.

“The ultimate winners of this award are the patients and their families because in the end, they receive the best possible care from us,” he told ABS-CBN Europe.

The CLN-Aqua Henderson Quality Award

The award is aimed at recognizing the work of clinicians who have produced ‘successful projects that have led to both tangible clinical improvements and made a real difference to patients' lives.’ To qualify for the competition, candidates must be able to demonstrate elements of quality in their projects and how these have led to greater productivity within their service area.

There were more than 1,000 applicants from the National Health Service (NHS) workforce in the UK. They were shortlisted to 10, then the final 3 were chosen.

Fernando impressed the panel of judges, headed by UK Health Secretary Andrew Lansley, with his project. For bagging the top award, he received a bursary of £5,000 to develop and spread his winning project to other NHS institutions. The two runners up were also granted bursary prize.

Caring, compassionate, innovative Pinoys

Fernando has always believed Pinoy nurses are exceptional and talented. 

“By nature, Filipinos are very caring, compassionate and are also very innovative as shown by this award. I encourage them to do better in their profession and uplift the image of Filipino nurses,” Fernando said.

A graduate of Wesleyan University in Cabanatuan City, he came to work as a nurse in the UK in 2000. His wife and three children have always been supportive of his career.

“I’m a believer in the quality of work of Filipino nurses. Wherever they work they always give their 100 percent, they always work hard and they always think of their family,” he explained.

He also added: “This is not just for myself, this is also for the staff at the hospital and for the Filipino nurses working abroad.”