A Nottingham Nurse Consultant Sandra Lawton, from Nottingham University Hospitals Trust has won a prestigious national award for her contribution to dermatology nursing in the UK- the second from the same department. She was presented with the Stone Award, by the British Dermatological Nursing Group, for her work over 23 years in the specialty, all of it based at the Queens Medical Centre site in Nottingham. Sandra is the ninth winner of the award - her colleague, clinical nurse specialist Colleen Gradwell won the award in 2005.

Sandra has led pioneering new models of care which have been adopted across the country. She established the first UK dermatology nurse liaison role in 1990 which ensured patients received appropriate care in all care settings home or hospital.

Since then she has developed a specialised eczema service working closely with the medical team and parents and carers of children with eczema, including the Nottingham support group, which has over 1000 Twitter followers across the world.

And more recently she has specialised in vulval skin conditions again supporting women to manage their skin condition at home.

Throughout her dermatology career in Nottingham she has developed her skills and those of others by building a strong nursing team, sharing her knowledge locally and nationally. As a result Sandra and the nursing team have been recognised individually and as a team for the many nursing initiatives they have been involved in.

This work was also acknowledged when she was awarded the title of Queen’s Nurse in 2007.

Sandra said: “People think ‘oh it’s just skin’ but living with a skin condition can have a very deep affect on how patients can live their life. Caring for dermatology patients over the last 23 years has provided me with a wonderful opportunity to raise awareness of skin disease.

“It’s a great honour to win this award, and it’s been a real team effort. I’m very proud of the way we’ve all worked together to make a real difference for our patients.”