Renfrewshire care home staff scoop prestigious awards at glitzy ceremony
Renfrewshire care home staff have won prestigious prizes at the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) Scotland Awards 2025.
Kirsty Cartin, manager at Rashielee care home in Erskine, scooped the top honour and was crowned nurse of the year at the ceremony, held in the National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh.
As well as winning the overall title, Kirsty was the winner of the clinical leadership award and Jennifer Carruthers, who also works at Rashielee, won the care home nurse award.
On becoming RCN Scotland nurse of the year 2025, Kirsty said: 'I'm shocked and totally humbled. I'm a proud care home nurse and I want to promote nursing to everyone. It's an excellent career.
'So many times we hear the bad news but there is so much joy in nursing and I want to share that. Care home nursing often doesn't get recognised.
'We are a voice in the shadows and people don't appreciate what we do because they don't know but we are an integral part of community care.
'I want everyone to know what we do so we can all work better, especially given the shift into community care. The most special thing about my whole career tapestry as a nurse is the people, it's the people I met, the residents, their relatives and the staff.
'Getting to know people's stories and getting to be a part of that story. People think care homes are just for dying and they are not; they are places where people go to thrive and flourish.'
Described by her colleagues as a 'champion of the value of care home nursing', Kirsty was nominated due to her compassionate leadership which has helped transform Rashielee into a care home where residents, families and staff fell valued and supported.
Her person-centred approach has been praised for fostering a positive workplace culture, improving staff retention and strengthening the perception of care homes as vital spaces for high-quality, compassionate nursing.
Jennifer, who works as deputy manager at the Erskine facility, was nominated as her work 'sets a benchmark for excellence, demonstrating the profound impact of compassionate leadership in care home nursing'.
Her nomination demonstrated her person-centered care through integrating emotional intelligence with clinical skills and advocating for care home nursing as a holistic discipline.
Helping Jennifer bag the award was that she has experience in both NHS and care homes.
Jennifer identified the challenges of transitioning into care homes and has worked to ease the process for residents and families – implementing trust-building measures such as visiting prospective residents in their current settings, inviting them for informal visits, and encouraging personalised spaces to foster a sense of belonging.
Colin Poolman, executive director of RCN Scotland, said: 'Huge congratulations to Kirsty on her well-deserved award. Too often the role of nursing in social care is overlooked.
'Here, the spotlight is shining on care home nursing and Kirsty's commitment to raising the standards of care for her residents and to developing and supporting her team.
'The judges were inspired by her drive to ensure that her staff always feel valued and supported for the excellent nursing staff they are. Her nomination stood out as exemplifying the very best of nursing in Scotland and we are proud to call Kirsty our nurse of the year.'
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Telegraph
6 days ago
- Telegraph
NHS nurse Sandie Peggie ‘taking legal action' against union over trans row
A nurse who complained about a transgender doctor using a female changing room has said she is taking legal action against her trade union. Sandie Peggie was suspended from her job last year after she complained about having to share a changing room with Dr Beth Upton, a transgender medic. Ms Peggie was later placed on special leave after a complaint of bullying and harassment by Dr Upton, but was cleared by an NHS Fife investigation last week. The suspension led to an employment tribunal this year, at which Ms Peggie launched a claim against Dr Upton and NHS Fife, citing the Equality Act 2010, including sexual harassment, harassment related to a protected belief, indirect discrimination and victimisation. On Saturday, The Herald reported that Ms Peggie had taken legal action against the Royal College of Nursing (RCN), claiming it failed to support her after her suspension, which the union denies. 'The RCN's failure to act like a trade union ought to has contributed to Sandie Peggie's mistreatment,' Margaret Gribbon, Ms Peggie's lawyer, said in a statement. 'They have repeatedly failed to exercise their industrial muscle to advocate for female members distressed because they are being deprived of genuine single-sex spaces to dress and undress at work. 'Had the RCN fulfilled the conventional role of a trade union, it is less likely that Sandie would have faced the ordeal of an 18-month disciplinary process and having to raise legal proceedings against Fife Health Board.' The Herald reported that Ms Peggie would be taking action for unlawful discrimination. An RCN spokesman told it: 'We have responded to the claim, and we deny all the allegations from Ms Peggie.' The row centres on an encounter between Ms Peggie and Dr Upton on Dec 24, 2023. The nurse experienced a sudden and heavy period and feared that it had bled through to her scrubs. She entered the female hospital changing room to find Dr Upton, and challenged the medic's presence. Within hours, a bullying complaint was lodged by Dr Upton. Ms Peggie was placed on special leave, and then suspended, after Dr Upton made the allegation of bullying and harassment and cited concerns about 'patient care'. 'Biological sex is immutable' In May last year, Ms Peggie submitted a formal claim to the employment tribunal against NHS Fife and Dr Upton for sexual harassment, belief discrimination and victimisation. The nurse complained of being required to share a single-sex space with someone she believed to be male and being victimised for holding a gender-critical belief that biological sex is immutable. It was not possible for the doctor to have held a gender recognition certificate in December 2023, meaning the medic was legally male. However, Dr Upton claimed during the first part of the tribunal, in February, to be 'biologically female'. It emerged on Wednesday this week, hours before the tribunal resumed, that Ms Peggie had been cleared of gross misconduct by an NHS Fife disciplinary hearing. However, the health board has so far ignored calls to stop contesting the tribunal. In a statement, the health board previously said: 'NHS Fife did not initiate the tribunal proceedings and is instead one of two 'respondents' being sued. 'NHS Fife cannot unilaterally stop proceedings – only the claimant can choose to withdraw the case. The claimant has said in a recent statement from her legal representatives that she is determined to continue with her legal claim, as she is entitled to do.'
BBC News
6 days ago
- BBC News
Trans tribunal nurse Sandie Peggie to sue union over lack of support
A nurse who complained about using a hospital changing room with a transgender doctor has launched legal action against her trade Peggie alleges that the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) failed to support her after she was suspended by NHS Fife in 2024 over claims she bullied and harassed Dr Beth Upton at Victoria Hospital in Peggie was cleared of those allegations following an investigation by the health RCN said it denied all of Ms Peggie's allegations. Ms Peggie has lodged a complaint of sexual harassment or harassment related to a protected belief against the health board and Dr Upton under the 2010 Equality Act over the was placed on leave in on 30 December, 2023 and later formally suspended on 4 January, 2024 while a disciplinary investigation into claims of gross misconduct took place. She said she contacted the union for advice, but claimed it "failed to act like a trade union" and "contributed to her mistreatment".Her lawyer, Margaret Gribbon, said the RCN "repeatedly failed to exercise their industrial muscle to advocate for female members distressed because they are being deprived of genuine single-sex spaces to dress and undress at work."She added: "Had the RCN fulfilled the conventional role of a trade union, it is less likely that Sandie would have faced the ordeal of an 18-month disciplinary process and having to raise legal proceedings against Fife Health Board." RCN guidelines published in 2021 state that members have a right to receive "support, guidance or representation regardless of your ethnic or national origins, religion or belief, sex or sexual orientation, gender reassignment, disability, marital status or civil partnership, age, pregnancy or any complaint you may have previously made about the RCN itself."The union also says it has the "right to decide the nature and extent of the advice and guidance" it can guidelines add: "If, after careful consideration, we find that we are unable to provide advice or representation, we will give you a clear and detailed explanation as to why we have taken this decision."A spokesperson for the RCN said: "We have responded to the claim, and we deny all the allegations from Ms Peggie." How the dispute began Ms Peggie told the employment tribunal in Dundee, which resumed after a five-month break on Wednesday, she had felt uncomfortable around Dr Upton in a changing room on three occasions between August and December Upton was born a man, but now identifies as a Peggie said the issue came to a head on Christmas Eve when Dr Upton started to undress in front of nurse and the doctor exchanged words, although exactly what was said has been Upton complained to NHS Fife about Ms Peggie's conduct after that incident, leading to her health board investigated, but an internal hearing found there was "insufficient evidence" to support claims of misconduct.
Daily Record
6 days ago
- Daily Record
Nurse Sandie Peggie taking action against union in wake of gender row suspension
The NHS Fife nurse claims she was not supported by the Royal College of Nursing after her suspension in the wake of a complaint about sharing a changing room with a transgender doctor. A nurse at the centre of a gender dispute has announced she is taking legal action against her trade union. Sandie Peggie was suspended from her job in 2024 after she complained about having to share a changing room with transgender medic Dr Beth Upton. Ms Peggie was later placed on special leave after a complaint of bullying and harassment by Dr Upton, but was cleared by an NHS Fife investigation earlier this week. The suspension led to an employment tribunal this year, in which Ms Peggie launched a claim against Dr Upton and NHS Fife, citing the Equality Act 2010, including sexual harassment, harassment related to a protected belief, indirect discrimination and victimisation. On Saturday, the Herald reported Ms Peggie had taken legal action against the Royal College of Nursing (RCN), claiming it failed to support her after her suspension, which the union denies. Join the Daily Record WhatsApp community! Get the latest news sent straight to your messages by joining our WhatsApp community today. You'll receive daily updates on breaking news as well as the top headlines across Scotland. No one will be able to see who is signed up and no one can send messages except the Daily Record team. All you have to do is click here if you're on mobile, select 'Join Community' and you're in! If you're on a desktop, simply scan the QR code above with your phone and click 'Join Community'. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. To leave our community click on the name at the top of your screen and choose 'exit group'. If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice. 'The RCN's failure to act like a trade union ought to has contributed to Sandie Peggie's mistreatment,' Ms Peggie's lawyer Margaret Gribbon said in a statement. 'They have repeatedly failed to exercise their industrial muscle to advocate for female members distressed because they are being deprived of genuine single-sex spaces to dress and undress at work. 'Had the RCN fulfilled the conventional role of a trade union, it is less likely that Sandie would have faced the ordeal of an 18-month disciplinary process and having to raise legal proceedings against Fife Health Board.' taking action for unlawful discrimination. An RCN spokesperson told the newspaper: 'We have responded to the claim, and we deny all the allegations from Ms Peggie.'
