A NURSE who has created a care record to ensure veterans do not have to repeat their traumatic stories to health professionals has been shortlisted for a prestigious UK award.

Diane Palmer, who works for Veterans First, is a finalist in the Innovations in your Specialty category of the RCNi Nurse Awards 2017, the profession’s top accolade for nursing excellence.

The Veterans First scheme is part of North Essex Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust, and based at the Lakes at Colchester General Hospital.

The award, sponsored by Nursing Standard, is for nurses who have made an outstanding contribution to patient care or who have initiated projects that have made a real difference to the lives of the people they care for in any specialty.

Concerned about the number of professionals involved with veterans’ transition from military to civilian life, Diane designed the veterans universal passport (VUP), a patient-held record of care, in 2012.

A full record of care is kept in the VUP for professionals to refer to and input into and includes a risk plan, care plan and veteran's task list. It helps veterans get priority treatment and ensures that wherever they go, they do not have to retell their traumatic stories over and over again.

It can easily be adapted to suit other patient groups.

Diane joined the Ministry of Defence as a mental health social worker in 2004.

At that time, little was known about post-traumatic stress disorder.

Funding was secured to set up Veterans First in 2012 and the project is now backed by NHS England.

The team of clinical staff and an administrator provide support for 500 veterans with mental health conditions including post-traumatic stress disorder.

The service offers assessments and health checks and one-to-one psychological therapy.

Diane said: "I am delighted to be a finalist in the RCNi Nurse Awards. As a nurse it is a great privilege to be able to make a difference and I am proud to uphold my profession. This highlights the difference one small idea can make to the lives of many.

"I would like to thank North Essex partnership trust for agreeing to fund the first 100 copies to enable me to run a pilot, NHS England for supporting me and providing funding, Prince Harry for his personal interest in this project, my colleagues in the Veterans First Team and most importantly my inspirational patients and their families who are of course the real heroes."

Diane will find out whether she has won at a ceremony in the Westminster Park Plaza hotel, London, on Friday.