Lymphoedema nurse wins award for specialist work
North West Anglia NHS Foundation TrustA woman who has spent half a century nursing and specialises in helping patients deal with a side effect of cancer has won an award for her lifetime contribution.
Rosie Collcott is the lymphoedema lead nurse based at Stamford and Rutland Hospital and received the honour at the North West Anglia NHS Foundation Trust Outstanding Achievement Awards at Peterborough Cathedral.
During her career, she has launched lymphoedema outreach clinics in Wisbech and Doddington, Cambridgeshire, and Spalding, Lincolnshire; created a patient support group and educated trust medics on the condition.
"I was truly overwhelmed to be nominated, shortlisted and honoured to win the award," said Mrs Collcott.
"As a nurse I feel in a very privileged position. I have met some very special people throughout my career," she added.
Hospital wedding
Mrs Collcott started as a nursing cadet in the early 1970s at the Stamford and Rutland Hospital before returning later in her career.
She has worked in many different departments, including a surgical unit and as a bank nurse, but found working with cancer patients particularly rewarding.
The nursing sister joined Peterborough City Hospital's lymphoedema service in 1994 and even married her husband Martin in its Robert Horrell Macmillan Centre Chapel in 1999, inviting staff and patients.
Lymphoedema is a long-term condition that causes the body's tissues to swell and occurs when lymph fluid is unable to properly drain from the body, due to a dysfunction or injury to the lymphatic system.
It can affect any part of the body, but usually develops in the arms or legs.
The condition can be a side effect of cancer or cancer treatment.
There is no cure but symptoms can be managed and alleviated.
Mrs Collcott was nominated for the award by specialist lymphoedema nurse Nicola Gregson.
"Rosie really is a wonderful person, and an inspirational nurse and an exceptional role model to future nurses," she said.
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