NGH nurse meeting PM as part of the national NHS 75 celebrations

Kerry Messam

A nurse from Northampton General Hospital met the Prime Minister on July 5 as part of the national NHS 75 celebrations.

Deputy Lead Nurse for Palliative Care, Kerry Messam, was invited to a Downing Street reception by Rishi Sunak as part of the NHS 75 celebrations.

During the pandemic Kerry looked at one of the most sensitive areas of NHS care – end-of- life care – and delivered a project which helped to enhance the care for patients and those important to them whilst in hospital. This included the development of special Swan Rooms and additional resources dedicated to end-of-life care.

Kerry, who has been a clinical nurse specialist in palliative and end-of-life care at NGH for the last 16 years, said: “It is a real surprise and honour to have received an invitation to the NHS 75th Anniversary celebrations and I am very proud to represent Northampton General Hospital at them.

“The ‘Walking the walk’ project I led at NGH could not have happened without the initial national work of nurse Claire Henry MBE, nurse Marie Cooper and campaigner Roberta Lovick, who have inspired others to improve end-of-life care by sharing their experiences.”

“I am extremely grateful to Claire Mansfield, End-of-Life Lead Nurse, and fellow palliative care team members, who have supported me in getting this far.”

“This is a collective achievement and it has been a privilege to work collaboratively with so many colleagues across the Trust to deliver new initiatives and help support the needs of caregivers, families and friends visiting dying loved ones in hospital.”

“We have received some really positive and heartfelt feedback from families and friends demonstrating that the little things really do make such a difference.“

Kerry’s work was supported by the Northamptonshire Health Charity and the hospital’s senior nursing and executive teams. In August last year she won a Chief Nursing Officer for England Silver Award for her major contributions to patient care by delivering the Walking the Walk project at NGH.