Trailblazing Cumbernauld nurse has been nominated for an award that's decided by public vote

Yvonne Millerick, 54, was one of the UK’s first dedicated heart failure nurses in the UK and the first to be employed within Glasgow’s Royal Infirmary. She currently works with patients, their families and a wide range of professionals as a heart failure palliative care nurse consultant lecturer – providing support at a time when many are at their most vulnerable.

Yvonne, who is a former pupil of Our Lady's High School and who originally hails from Carbrain, is up for the Patient’s Choice Award at the Royal College of Nursing’s annual awards in London.

The Croy resident was nominated for the award by John Stuart, whose mum Mary Stuart, 88, has heart failure. John said: “Yvonne is amazing. She is compassionate, caring and very knowledgeable about all aspects of care relating to patients with heart failure. She has always been there for us as a family and nothing is every too much trouble of off limits.

Yvonne started her nursing career at Forth Valley Hospital, before transferring to Glasgow Royal Infirmary in 2000. She is also a lecturer at Glasgow Caledonian University, and has been inspiring the next generation of heart failure specialist nurses across the UK for 20 years.

Yvonne said: “It means so much to be nominated by a patient and their family. I think when people consider palliative care, they think about the loss of all hope; my approach is always to encourage patients and families to live as well as they can and to remember that there is always something we can do to help them to live well.

"We do see patients and families at their most vulnerable due to the impact and uncertainty of the illness on all of them and for me it’s about engaging in meaningful what matters conversations from the minute you meet them through to bereavement. I absolutely empathise with the situation that they are in – I often reflect on what must it be like to be in their shoes and I hope they know I am always there for them regardless.”

You can vote for Yvonne via https://secure.rcni.com/nurse-awards/patients-choice