A care worker has won a regional NHS leadership award for her pioneering work with adults with autism and learning disabilities.

Katie Nurse, 41, from Croydon who has worked for Surrey and Borders Partnership NHS Foundation Trust at Derby House, Epsom, for 17 years, received the patient inclusivity award last month, for making a significant improvement to the quality of life of her patients.

She utilised iPad apps to help adults with complex needs to communicate, which reduced their stress levels and helped one person increase their vocabulary from 15 to 600 words.
The apps that focus on using visual aids to help adults create simple sentences, such as asking for a cup of tea and describing how they feel.

The awards were organized by the Kent, Surrey and Sussex NHS Leadership Collaborative for the first time this year.

Ms Nurse said, "I still feel chuffed about it. I keep reading the trophy because I can't quite believe it. I feel honoured and privileged. It's an honour and I feel very surprised and humbled. It's so nice that people think so much of the project.

"The prospect of the national event is quite daunting. What started small is getting a lot of recognition which is fantastic and very rewarding. I hope our experiences here help other people."

Ms Nurse now goes forward to the National NHS Leadership Awards in February 2014.