A SENIOR nurse who oversaw the development of a life changing service at Llandudno Hospital had her contribution recognised at an awards ceremony.

Lead Nurse Corinne Hocking, who oversaw the development of the hospital’s Assessment and Therapy Unit, has won the Betsi Cadwaladr Scholarship Foundation Award, which celebrates the “outstanding” efforts of nurses and midwives from across Wales.

Corinne was commended for her role in expanding the service since joining the hospital in 2012.

Her efforts – to introduce new training and ways of working – have led to increased availability of IV therapies for residents across North Wales, preventing them from having to travel long distances for routine yet specialised care.

Corinne, who was presented with the award from the Welsh Government’s Chief Nursing Officer Jean White at a ceremony in Cardiff, said: “The whole unit provides life changing care for our patients, so to be recognised with the award is a real endorsement of everything we’re doing here.

“People are just so grateful to have as service like this so close to home.

“We don’t think this is happening anywhere else in Wales, and we’re now expanding the service to care for more people as close to their home as possible.”

The service carries out up to 300 treatments a month to patients with conditions like osteoporosis, multiple sclerosis, Crohn’s disease and colitis, as well as pre-and post-chemotherapy care.

Patients requiring IV therapy often need multiple treatments a week, with the procedure sometimes taking as long as eight hours to complete. This enables the patient to go home and return for future treatments without the need of a hospital bed.

Corinne added: “We’ve heard loads of stories from patients who were having to travel really long distances every day for treatment, like patients travelling from Holyhead to Liverpool multiple times a week.

“Having to go long distances for treatment, sometimes for five days in a row, was costly for families and isolated patients from their families and friends.”