A clinical nurse manager at the Royal Devon University Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust has been awarded a prestigious scholarship on the Florence Nightingale Foundation: Windrush 2022 Leadership Programme, which aims to recognise the contrievobution of Windrush nurses and midwives across the NHS.

Edmond Hernaez, Clinical Nurse Manager for Ear, Nose and Throat (ENT)/Maxillofacial and Orthodontics Outpatients at the Royal Devon’s Eastern services, has been offered a place on the programme, which is designed to help build confidence in scholars, allowing them to speak out and influence improvements in patient care and health outcomes.

Edmond said: "I feel ecstatic to be awarded one of these distinguished scholarships. The training will enable my leadership skills to flourish while working alongside healthcare professionals and multi-disciplinary teams, developing quality improvement projects at the Trust. Working with our Quality Improvement leads, I will focus on introducing and promoting the Professional Nurse Advocacy programme, which aims to increase staff resilience, decrease burnout, improve morale, and decrease staff stress levels."

Carolyn Mills, Chief Nursing Officer at the Royal Devon, said: "We are thrilled that Edmond has been awarded this prestigious scholarship. It’s a highly-competitive programme, so the fact that Edmond has been awarded a place really highlights his commitment to becoming an exceptional leader. We know that Edmond will use this opportunity to drive improvements across our Trust, and we look forward to supporting him with the work that he does.”

Edmond joins Maggie Shepherd, Honorary Clinical Professor at the University of Exeter and Lead Nurse for Research at the Royal Devon, who was offered a Florence Nightingale Foundation Leadership Scholarship earlier this year.