Over the weekend we were lucky enough to be mentioned by Mandie Burston (RCN Nurse of the Year 2015) at the Royal College of Nursing Congress through our #lovedoesnthurt t-shirt.
Mandie a nurse at the University Hospital of North Midlands started working with a local charity, ARCH, around 5 years ago with the aim to develop a ‘rapid recognize, response refer program’ into the emergency department she worked in. Through her efforts she saw the team grow in numbers, referrals increased, both patients and nursing colleagues were disclosing. Following two runner up local awards 2014, the project was entered into the national award process through the Nursing Standard. In their first year UHNM & ARCH were just ahead of the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidelines being published, and met them all, before they were even set out as a guide to follow!
As finalists, the team were invited to attend the Savoy Hotel for the ceremony on May 1st 2015. Incidentally, they won Innovations in Practice Aware and Amanda was named as the RCN Nurse of the Year 2015! 
As Nurse of the Year (2015) Mandie has been fortunate enough to continue the conversation surrounding domestic abuse, keeping it in the headlines. She has been busy attending conferences to speak, she writes a monthly blog (Her Twitter Page) and holds editorial roles on the board with the Nursing Standard, and all in the RCN journal family. Locally in November, she was awarded NHS Hero award for her continued work raising the profile of domestic abuse, and the need to training and education. She is also presenting at the Royal College of Emergency Medicine annual conference in September too, where she will be able to repeat her message about domestic abuse to further medical colleagues.
One of her main objectives from the year was to bring to the National RCN Congress, a resolution to make Domestic Abuse mandatory training for all involved in health care. You can find the wording for the resolution here (https://rcni.com/).
Mandie has written a poem in addition to her efforts:
For the thousands of victims of domestic abuse
lack of awareness in health care is simply no excuse
For when a victim has a moment to seek out recovery
A potential road leading to a new life of discovery
Health care providers must listen and respond
The victims of abuse need to see you confident and strong
I’ve listed to the voices of the abused, seen them crumble
Their stories make you weep, leave you horrified and humble
Abuse is founded in false belief and behavior
The relentless perpetrator will never stop or waiver
Shouting, humiliation, financial control and biting
Emotional, psychological abuse, and physical fighting
The degradation and constraints can be totally relentless
Lives are left broken, relationships senseless
Please never judge a victim of abuse
As you see scars of self harm, and substance misuse
Surviving this torture can be too much to bare
Escape is salvation, behind a hollow stare
Health care, stand with me, recognize education is key,
Help every victim of abuse, a victim like you, a victim like me.
It is Mandie’s passion to make changes in the provision of services and is a great advocate to help improve the recognition of abuse in the health care sector. We couldn’t be happier with the effort she is making, and all she has achieved so far.
Thank you for wearing our #lovedoesnthurt T-Shirt and informing us of your great work.
Footnote: If you are in an abusive relationship and requires an urgent response or needs in-depth support please contact the National Domestic Violence Helpline on 0808 2000 247, the Men’s Advice Helpline on 0808 801 0327 or The National LGBT Helpline(Broken Rainbow) on 0300 999 5428.
You could also find support organisations using our ONLINE DIRECTORY
If you are interested in supporting please consider ‘The Summer T-Shirt’ campaign we are currently running.
Comments are closed.