Julie Cawthorne, Assistant Chief Nurse for Infection Prevention & Control (IPC) at Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust (MFT) has been awarded an MBE in today’s New Year Honours list.
The Honour recognises Julie’s outstanding contribution to patient safety over a 40-year career in nursing, as well as her vital role in responding to the COVID-19 pandemic.
For the past 30 years Julie has devoted her working life to Infection prevention and Control and in order to keep patients and staff safe.
Julie works with a small leadership team in IPC and is well respected by colleagues across the professions as well as Public Health England which is evidenced by her contribution to a number of published research papers.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Julie has led the development, implementation and evaluation of policies, protocols and guidance, ensuring consistently high standards of care across the whole of MFT, which employs 23,000 staff.
Julie has worked diligently, often seven days a week, across 10 hospitals and city-wide community services, supporting our response to the pandemic. She assessed the introduction of novel personal protective equipment (PPE) during the pandemic, undertaking frequent risk assessments to protect staff and patients.
Professor Cheryl Lenney OBE, Chief Nurse at MFT, said: “I’m thrilled that Julie’s extraordinary career and tireless hard work has been recognised in the 2021 New Year Honours List.
“Throughout the pandemic, Julie has remained the trusted source of advice for procurement teams, clinical staff, internal command structures and executive colleagues plus external organisations.
“She is an outstanding leader and an absolute credit to nursing nationally and to MFT, as well as being a brilliant colleague, co-worker and mentor. Hugely respected across MFT, she frequently offers advice and support to other Trusts. She deserves to be recognised for her excellent leadership during the pandemic and an exceptional career devoted to helping to generate the evidence base for nursing practice and IPC for the future.”
Before the outbreak of COVID-19, Julie had been reducing her weekly hours ahead of her retirement, but then willingly returned to more than full time service.
Julie said: “I’m extremely proud to have been named in this New Year Honours list. I see it as a fantastic recognition, not just of my career, but of all our dedicated nurses and IPC staff across the Trust and the country.
“It’s been a difficult year for everyone but I feel very privileged to be in this role, supporting the safety of our patients, staff and our community.”