Mental health nurse wins national award
Dorcas Gwata, who works as a psychiatric liaison nurse at St Mary's Hospital, has been named Best Nurse at The Sun's Who Cares Wins Awards in recognition of her work helping vulnerable people and trying to address health inequalities. She was announced as the winner of this prestigious award at a star-studded ceremony screened on Channel 4 yesterday (27 November).Dorcas’ career
Dorcas started her career in the NHS at the age of 21 and over the years worked as a hospital cleaner, healthcare assistant and mental health nurse. She has also worked with young people involved in gangs and knife-crime, as part of the Westminster Integrated Gang Unit project.
In 2015, she was given a grant from the Florence Nightingale Foundation to travel to Zimbabwe to work on a HIV programme, helping patients become more engaged with mental health services. This inspired Dorcas’ approach to supporting people in the community back in London, adopting a ‘street clinic approach’. In addition to her role at St Mary’s, where she’s employed by Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust, Dorcas is a global health consultant, campaigning and advising to improve health inequalities worldwide.
Dorcas was nominated by her colleague Dr Maddalena Miele, Consultant Perinatal Psychiatrist, who said: "As soon as I met Dorcas, she struck me as someone who really thinks outside of the box. She understands the barrier that some people from ethnic minorities face when trying to access healthcare services and she has made it her mission to provide them with better psychiatric care.”
Dorcas’ acceptance speech
Dorcas said: "Somewhere in London tonight a young man is frightened, he is trapped in a gang and he is carrying a knife for what he feels is for his safety. Somewhere in London a young girl is traumatised, she maybe self harming or thinking of taking her life. I want these young people to know that there are nurses like me who care about them deeply.
"I want to thank all my patients who I have looked after, they shared their vulnerability and strength and they made me the nurse I am today. I thank my sponsor Dr Maddalena Miele, herself a phenomenal psychiatrist. Her work reminds again and again that women's health matters. I thank my trusts, Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust and Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust for this ground breaking work. It speaks to our ability to collaborate and work across multi-agencies. I am deeply grateful to my manager Million Moyo for his consistent and unwavering support.
"I am grateful to the Florence Nightingale Foundation and The Mary Seacole Leadership Awards for grand breaking sponsorships. I am very grateful to my global health family, Ade Adeyemi, The London School of Tropical Medicine and African Diaspora groups.
"I share this award with thousands of migrant nurses and midwives who come to this great country to work and support their families back home. I share it with thousands of hospital cleaners who are in our midst, too often invisible and voiceless.
"I love being a nurse, it’s a great honour to service our communities, I would do it all again. Thank you for this honourable award, thank you from the bottom of my heart."
