I joined the trust in 2014, and Helen was my clinical supervisor when I started. She was a strong advocate for patient safety and always insisted on a high level of clinical competence.

I really got to know Helen when I transferred in 2019. Helen was still in a team lead position and still demanding gold-standard care from her team. If you needed to know the absolute correct way of working, the team went to Helen. She was always aware of the latest guidance and frequently dedicated her free time to gathering this information. This is ongoing; Helen is still regularly found reading the latest guidance at home in the evening.

She retired and returned to us in a Band 5 post, and I became one of the team leads, with the honour of managing Helen, which, initially, was a very daunting task. However, she made this an absolute privilege. This was where I saw a different side to Helen for the first time. Patients love Helen; she is always calm and capable. She really listens to patients and equally can decipher their silences with skill. Her clinical expertise and experience are huge, and this brings a quiet calmness to her practice that patients and staff alike hugely appreciate.

When I managed Helen, she made me a better manager, for which I will always be massively grateful to her. She showed me how to prioritise my staff without compromising on patient safety and the importance of caring for and listening to my team. She would frequently ring me if she had noticed a staff member was struggling and discreetly point me in their direction, all while never compromising their trust or confidentiality. In the early days of my tenure as a team leader, our 1:1s would be Helen offering all her issues and queries in a very organized fashion, and then explaining or suggesting to me how to solve the issue or find the answer to the query. As my management skills developed, Helen expertly stepped back to allow me to take control of our professional relationship. Still, she was always available if I needed to return to her for support or guidance.

Because of this guidance from Helen, I was able to support and develop the rest of our team in turn. It is because of her that I had the confidence to lead the team through COVID and make challenging decisions. As a Band 5 nurse and as a team leader, just knowing Helen is on shift immediately made my day less stressful. I know I am not alone in this; many members of the team have also commented to me that they feel relieved when they know she is around to call on when they are feeling unsure.

Helen is now in a different role, and I have transitioned from the service into a specialist role; however, I remain in contact with the team. I know they stay constantly grateful that Helen is a member of their team and that she is there to support them as they strengthen their clinical skills, enabling them to provide excellent and safe care to their patients.

This is just a brief overview of Helen's brilliance - please let me know if you need any more information. I cannot think of anyone more deserving of this award than Helen. The team and I have been made so much better as clinicians by having her as one of our team.