Northern Irish family honour Aberdeen nurse for saving mum's life

NHS Grampian has now received over 2,000 DAISY Award nominations from members of the public wishing to express their thanks to nurses and midwives for delivering exceptional care, since partnering with the DAISY Foundation in May 2023.

The newest honouree, nurse Lucy Wilson has been recognised for the “profound impact” she had on a family from Northern Ireland after their mum became critically unwell with sepsis during a holiday to Scotland.

Lucy, who works in Ward 201, the intensive care unit at Aberdeen Royal Infirmary (ARI), commented: “I’m overwhelmed! I never expected to be nominated, let alone win; I’m just doing my job, just doing what I love. I remember this patient and their family, and I am so pleased to hear they are recovering well.

“It’s extra special that the nomination came from someone who is a nursing student. They know how wonderful – and how challenging – nursing can be.”

The diagnosis of sepsis and the complications that followed meant the family who nominated Lucy spent almost seven weeks in ARI between May and June 2024. The patient’s daughter who put forward the nomination for Lucy explained: “As you can imagine, it was extremely traumatic for our whole family, especially being so far away from home. Our mum is the glue that holds our family circle together.

“We were desperately willing her to survive each of the many complications she faced and during the first ten days in ICU she required three major surgeries. She was very unstable but in true mum fashion she pulled through and fought her way out of what seemed an impossible situation.

“Lucy stood out to me due to her unwavering professionalism, kindness, excellent care and genuine empathy towards all of us as a family. She listened to our concerns and escalated them accordingly so mum could be sent for another CT, discovering she needed her third operation. If this hadn't happened, we feel we would be without our wonderful mum today and we are forever grateful to Lucy.”

A student nurse herself in Northern Ireland, the patient’s daughter had left her last day of a clinical placement in an emergency surgery ward to travel to join her father at her mum’s bedside in ARI along with her two sisters and brother.

She added: “I remember feeling so scared. I could never imagine walking into another hospital again. I thought my world was ending and truly believed I couldn't go on in my degree. But watching Lucy care for my mum and experiencing the genuine empathy we all felt from her inspired me to continue. She fully worked with us as an advocate for mum and for our family. She even continued to visit mum on the general surgery ward during her breaks. Lucy is an amazing nurse and I will never forget her and the profound impact she had on our family.”

As recovery continues, the family has been eagerly keeping an eye on NHS Grampian’s Facebook page for DAISY announcements.

They added: “We feel very blessed to have had Lucy as part of mum’s journey and have no doubt she will continue to help other patients and family members so amazingly as she did us. We are absolutely over the moon that Lucy has won the DAISY Award – it is well deserved.”

NHS Grampian chief nurse Denise Johnson commented: “This family’s story reminds us why we do what we do as nurses; to support individuals and families through the most challenging of times. It is a privilege to be there for people, to help them on their journey and to deliver the best possible care.

“We are very proud of Lucy for demonstrating excellence in nursing care and are grateful to all team members for playing their part in helping families 24 hours a day, seven days a week. It’s great when we get the chance to celebrate our DAISY honourees and give staff the chance to recognise the hugely positive impact they make. We’d like to thank everyone who continues to put forward nominations.”

DAISY stands for Diseases Attacking the Immune System and the not-for-profit organisation was formed in 1999 in memory of J. Patrick Barnes. The award is now recognised for its success in promoting patient and family-centred care, improving job satisfaction and retention, and celebrating the crucial work nurses and midwives do.

Put forward a nomination for a DAISY Award: www.nhsgrampian.org/DAISY

Find out more about the global DAISY Foundation programme or email gram.nhsgdaisyaward@nhs.scot