19th May 2026

Celebrating our nursing award winners

Four Your Healthcare nurses were winners in this year’s Kingston and Richmond nursing awards. The awards were held as part of the annual nursing and midwifery conference, attended by teams across Your Healthcare, Kingston Hospital and Richmond community services.

Community nurse Daniela Murashiki won the category of ‘Safer Care’: a nurse or team that has undertaken an initiative to address factors that place patients at risk and promote safety as an essential part of healthcare.

According to the judges: “Danni is an experienced nurse who has taken her community expertise into Kingston Hospital over the winter period to assess patients with a ‘home first’ approach to take them safely home rather than being admitted to hospital. Over 200 patients were identified by the Homefirst team over the busy winter months, thereby avoiding risks associated with hospitalisation by transferring their care to the community. Although Dani is an experienced community nurse, the work involved learning more about hospital care and gaining a greater understanding of social care and the importance of joined up health and social care in the community.  She embraced this learning with enthusiasm and has further shared this with her colleagues in the community nursing team. She has received wonderful feedback from patients, one of whom stated that “without her intervention I would have been readmitted to hospital. Her care, organisation, and ongoing support has had a very positive impact on my health and wellbeing.”

Maxine Kypri and Kirsty Jenkins from Your Healthcare’s infant feeding team, won the award for non-registered healthcare support workers.

The judges said: “The infant feeding team consistently demonstrates excellence, innovation and commitment to improving outcomes for babies and families, making them highly deserving of this award. Breastfeeding rates within the local population stand at 75.8%, significantly exceeding the UK average of 56.6% at 6-8 weeks. This achievement reflects the team’s sustained, evidence-based approach to infant feeding support and their ability to engage families from diverse backgrounds. By prioritising early relationship-based support, the team has contributed to improved maternal confidence, infant health, and reduced health inequalities.

“Service user feedback consistently highlights the excellent quality of care provided. Families describe the team as approachable, knowledgeable and supportive, with many reporting increased confidence in feeding decisions and feeling listened to and respected. The infant feeding team delivers outstanding outcomes. Their proven impact, forward thinking approach, and clear commitment to achieving UNICEF Gold status make them an exemplary service and a worthy recipient of this award.”

The pre and post diagnostic (special educational needs and disabilities) team, was recognised for its teamwork.

According to the judges: “The pre and post diagnostic team is highly deserving of an award in recognition of its rapid development, innovation and significant positive impact on families of children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). Since its inception in 2023, the service has expanded from one staff member to a dedicated team of three, demonstrating both demand and success. To date, the team has managed over 800 referrals, providing timely, compassionate and practical support to families at a critical point in their child’s development.

“A key achievement has been the introduction of targeted parent workshops focusing on areas of high need, including sleep, behaviour and eating. These workshops empower parents with evidence-based strategies, reduce anxiety and build confidence while families await diagnostic assessments or adjust following diagnosis. Parent feedback highlights the reassurance gained from understanding their child’s needs and connecting with other families experiencing similar challenges.”

The keynote speaker at the conference was Karen Bonner, chief nursing officer for London, who spoke about the future of nursing, including increasing the number of advanced practice roles, and crucially, shifting more care into the community. She made a plea to hospital colleagues to get out into the community and understand more about the way care is delivered where people live.

YH’s rapid response team gave a popular presentation at the conference which triggered useful debate about the power of community teams to keep people out of hospital.

Commenting, Joanna James, lead for community and district nursing, said:

“It was both an enjoyable and useful day and I was, of course, extremely proud to see our teams recognised for their hard work and total commitment to high quality patient care.”