Clinical Nurse Specialist Marina Dixon with the St Richard’s Hospice Community Nursing Team has won a Cavell Star Award for going above and beyond for her colleagues. Head of Community Nursing and team mate and Julie Reece explains why Marina is such a worthy winner,
“Marina has worked as a specialist palliative care nurse at St Richards hospice for 25 years and has been instrumental in supporting colleagues over the year as the service has grown.
Recently, a patient with motor neuron disease who had become increasingly unwell during the Covid pandemic and Marina worked tirelessly to support the patient and his wife, persuading them to accept help and with their feelings of being overwhelmed, working long hours with the MDT team to ensure the support and care of the couple.
“Marina has also worked tirelessly as our infection control link nurse to support with drawing up and implementing procedures which keep patients and staff safe.
She is a mentor for everyone within the team and the community neighbourhood teams, with a knowledge base of palliative care second to none which she gladly shares. She has time and time again gone above and beyond her role to ensure the best possible care for her patients often working late to stabilize symptoms. I think we cannot overestimate the impact Marina has had on palliative care in Worcester City and especially in community nursing.”
Marina reacted to winning her Cavell Star Award,
“It is an amazing honour to receive the Cavell Star Award, I shall wear it with pride. None of us can work in isolation and St Richard’s is a team of people: from the volunteers who began the hospice, to our wonderful team now who give their kindness to each person they see. We are a team, and that’s the only way it works. Thank you for letting me work within that team for so long. It’s been quite an amazing journey.”