Winning silver for going above and beyond

The Silver Chief Nursing Officer’s Award is rarely awarded to a nurse from an independent hospital group. But this summer Ruth May, the Chief Nursing Officer for England, made a surprise appearance during a routine virtual leadership meeting, to present our own Chris Finch with the coveted Silver award. 

“The COVID-19 global health emergency has been challenging for us all professionally and personally and we have seen nurses like Chris come to the fore,” said Ruth May. “Infection prevention and control is extremely important, and she thoroughly deserves this award for her leadership in this area. I thank her for stepping up to lead this vital work as part of the partnership between the NHS and independent sector.”

Infection Prevention and Control Lead Nurse, Chris, was nominated by her colleagues at Nuffield Health in recognition of her outstanding infection, prevention and control skills, as well as her role in leading and educating different teams across Nuffield Health’s 31 hospitals and 113 fitness and wellbeing centres.

Nuffield Health has cared for over 340,000 NHS patients during the COVID-19 pandemic.
During that time, Chris had an immediate far-reaching impact, driving excellence across clinical care, operations, clean team, procurement and property. She layered infection prevention and control expertise with leadership talent, and made sure our patients and our teams were protected. 

On receiving the award, Chris said: “Our Infection, Prevention and Control team pulled together so well at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic and we shared knowledge across the Charity. I thank everyone who has played such a valuable role, from our housekeepers, matrons, hospital teams and fitness and wellbeing centre sites – it was a real team effort during such a challenging time.”

The prestigious Silver Chief Nursing Officer’s Award recognises major contributions to patients and the profession and the enormous range of skills, expertise, and enduring compassion that modern nursing represents.

“Chris was pivotal in creating a sense of ‘we can do this’ across the Charity during the COVID-19 pandemic. I am very proud, and grateful for her exceptional contribution,” said Carol Kefford, Nuffield Health’s Chief Nurse and Clinical Director.