Pioneering nurse at Wycombe Hospital selected as a finalist in a prestigious international award

Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust’s pioneering nurse Ghazala Yasin has been selected from contenders from around the world to be a finalist in a prestigious international award.

In August 2016 Ghazala will travel to Rome to compete in the nursing/allied professional investigator award run by the European Society for Cardiology. She will showcase her work in developing a blueprint for herself and other nurses to become nursing angiographers.

Ghazala joined the Trust’s award winning cardiac team at Wycombe Hospital in 2005 and rose to become lead cath lab nurse four years later.

It was whilst studying for her Masters three years ago that she decided to explore whether she could develop a nurse specialist role in coronary angiography – an X-ray test which uses dye to check for blocked or narrowed coronary arteries – and which has traditionally always been performed by doctors.

Thanks to the support of the cardiac team who devoted their time to train and supervise her, Ghazala has now completed her initial training and is now performing angiograms at the hospital. This, she says, has benefits for both patients and staff – reducing cancellations, alleviating doctors’ workloads and maximising the use of the Trust’s busy cath labs.

Says Ghazala: ‘I couldn’t have done this without the encouragement and support of the staff here. It sends out a strong message that there is so much more that nurses can achieve. I feel proud and privileged to have had this opportunity and thrilled to have been chosen for the award. It’s a huge platform to be able to promote the value and opportunities in nurse angiography, and promote the Trust’s cardiac services.‘

Consultant cardiologist Piers Clifford, who put Ghazala forward for the award, said: ‘Ghazala joined us as a junior nurse but has always stood out as a highly professional, determined and charismatic character. Her desire to constantly improve services for patients made developing a nurse angiography role an obvious next step. She deserves international recognition for her achievements.‘