There was a double celebration for NHSGGC staff in the New Year Honours – with a doctor and a nurse both scooping an MBE.
Jennifer Rodgers, from Lochwinnoch, started as a nursing student in 1993 and after becoming a qualified nurse in 1996 took up a Staff Nurse position in Royal Hospital for Sick Children (Yorkhill), Glasgow. Jen is now the Board’s Chief Nurse for Paediatrics and Neonates, based at the Royal Hospital for Children.
Dr Tara Quasim, from Mansewood, is based at Glasgow Royal Infirmary and received her MBE for her work with the InS:PIRE programme which helps patients recover after being in Intensive Care.
ICU patients can have persistent physical and psychological problems as a direct result of the intensive care stay which can impact all aspects of their life. The InS:PIRE (Intensive Care Recovery: Supporting and Promoting Independence and Return to Employment) project is a five week rehabilitation and support initiative for ICU patients and their families and has been running in Glasgow Royal since 2014.
Dr Quasim said: “I am delighted to accept this award on behalf of the whole InS:PIRE team and the patients who have hopefully benefitted.
“Many thanks to NHSGGC for its continued support of the programme, the Health Foundation and University of Glasgow who gave me the ability to help start this five years ago.”
Jennifer Rodgers provides professional leadership to over a thousand registered nurses and over three hundred nursing support staff within the Royal Hospital for Children, Queen Elizabeth University Hospital Neonatal Unit, Royal Alexandra Hospital Neonatal Unit and The Princess Royal Neonatal Unit.
Jen is focussed on healthcare improvement and has been instrumental in bringing and spreading strategies to Scotland that enhance patient care, patient flow and peoples experiences of healthcare. Over the past ten years Jen has become one of Scotland’s improvement leaders and has an international reputation her work.
Jennifer is a huge advocate of person centred and family integrated care and her original project asking children to draw or write ‘What matters to me’ posters became a key driving force and an integral part of the Scottish and International ‘What matters to you?’ movement.
She said: “It’s really humbling to receive this honour. It’s such a privilege to do this job and work with so many inspirational teams of nurses, doctors and the many other people that ensure patients and their families are well looked after.”
Jane Grant, Chief Executive, NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, said: “I am absolutely delighted for both Jen and Tara who are being honoured in the 2020 New Year’s Honours List.
“Both are great role models for us all and it’s really well deserved.”