Louise Keane, Nurse Education Lead at the NCL Training Hub, has been awarded the Karen Downs Lifetime Achievement Award from the NHS Innovation Collaborative for digital health.
The award is in memory of Karen Downs, a nurse who worked in digital and was passionate about making life easier for her patients, service users, and colleagues through nursing innovation and care in equal measure.
When presenting the award, Breid O’Brien, former Director of Innovation within NHS England’s Digital Health team said, “Like Karen, Louise has been an amazing advocate of and support to the National Innovation Collaborative’s mission and work, volunteering time, expertise, and endless enthusiasm to bring to life a host of learning resources that will inspire and support others to embark on and develop their own digital journeys, changing life as they do so.
“The effort and energy Louise has given us without hesitation and always with a smile is just one chapter in a much greater story of a person and professional who has for many years dedicated her work, passion, and tenacious personality to embracing opportunity, inspiring others, and making lives better.
“A voice for service users and care professionals alike, Louise is an absolute inspiration to us all and we look forward to seeing what the next chapter brings.”
Speaking on receiving the award, Louise said, “I never met Karen but feel humbled and honoured to receive this in her name, and I hope that I can continue to innovate and provide outstanding care to all those I support in ASC.”
Congratulations Louise, what a fantastic achievement!