A NURSE from Darlington is among the for a national NHS award for his service to palliative care.

Mel McEvoy, nurse consultant in palliative care, is one of the nominees making up the final shortlist for this year’s Kate Granger Compassionate Care Awards.

His citation said Mr McEvoy was nominated for being "forward thinking and innovative in the delivery of palliative and end of life care for patients.

"Putting the patient and family at the centre of planning and care, he introduced the Family’s Voice Diary at North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Foundation Trust which is now used in several other NHS organisations.

"Feedback and published research relating to the Family’s Voice Diary shows this work has made a huge difference to patient care empowering families and loved ones to contribute to end of life care and engage with health professionals through the Family’s Voice Diary.

"Improved communication channels between health professionals, patients and their loved ones has enabled earlier intervention by specialist teams and greater planning for the provision of care."

The ceremony is being staged at Manchester Central, as part of the NHS England Annual General Meeting today, with the results announced this evening.

Mr McEvoy is one of only two in the running for the individual award, the other being a nurse from Coventry.

The Acute Stroke Unit at City Hospitals Sunderland has been shortlisted for the team award.

The citation reads: "Supporting stroke patients experiencing difficulties in communication can be difficult for both families and health professionals alike and many stroke survivor patients with communication problems say that they sometimes feel invisible.

"The stroke team showed dedication, care and commitment in developing an ‘all about me’ booklet that brought to life the use of whiteboards.

"The patient (if able) and family help the nursing team to get to know the patient on a personal level by helping to populate the whiteboard.

"Families are encouraged to bring in photographs or draw pictures so that the whole nursing team can use the information to help engage with their loved ones and enable conversations. The initial pilot evaluated well with overwhelming positive feedback from patients and families. Nursing staff use the visual whiteboard as a communication tool, especially if the patient becomes anxious or restless.

"This is an excellent example of how, by listening and learning from feedback provided by patients, their family and friends and staff involved in their care, continuous improvement can be achieved."

the awards were set up by Kate Granger, the terminally ill doctor who worked tirelessly to raise awareness around compassion in the NHS through her #hellomynameis social media campaign.

A panel that included Kate’s close friend and colleague Dr Natalie Silvey, Kate’s husband Chris Pointon, Professor Jane Cummings, Chief Nursing Officer for England and others chose the finalists for this year’s awards.

Professor Jane Cummings, Chief Nursing Officer for England said: “The work of Kate Granger will always remain close to my heart and once again, it has been extremely difficult to choose this year’s finalists.

“Each and every nomination outlined how individuals, teams and organisations are delivering expert care, skill and compassion in everything they do and I am particularly pleased to see the six Cs remaining at the heart of the work of nursing, midwifery and care staff, as well as those from other professions working across and beyond the NHS.”

For updates on Twitter follow #hellomynameis and #KGAwards18