Graylands nurse wins WA's top honour

A nurse dedicated to holistically improving the health of inpatients at Graylands Hospital has been awarded Western Australia's 2017 Nurse/Midwife of the Year at this year's WA Nursing and Midwifery Excellence Awards.

Premier Mark McGowan congratulated Amy Wallace and all of this year's award winners at a ceremony held at the Perth Convention and Exhibition Centre on May 6.

Category winners were chosen from a field of 33 finalists from across Western Australia's public and private health and education sectors.

Ms Wallace started the inaugural Physical Health Care Clinical Nurse Specialist role at Graylands Hospital in 2015, with the aim of integrating physical health care into the wellbeing of people with mental illness.

Amy introduced a hospital Wellness Clinic and health promotion tools, and began a 'sports program' for patients in acute secure wards that was so successful in reducing agitation, distress and aggression that it is now well established in the hospital.

Under her leadership, the number of inpatients proactively referred to a GP for health care has increased from 25 to 180 in 12 months, and 77 acutely unwell inpatients have participated in a sports program that has significantly improved their symptoms.

The 2017 Lifetime Achievement Honour was presented to Professor Di Twigg - the Executive Dean School of Nursing and Midwifery, Edith Cowan University, and Research Consultant at Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital.

2017 is the 14th year of the awards, which are hosted annually to coincide with International Day of the Midwife on May 5 and International Nurses Day on May 12.

The full list of winners can be found at WA Nursing & Midwifery Excellence Awards website (external site).

Read a statement about the awards from Minister for Health, Roger Cook and Premier Mark McGowan on the Media Statements website (external link).