A staff nurse has been honoured with a top award from the Queen’s Nursing Institute.

Naomi Hills, a community staff nurse with East Coast Community Healthcare (ECCH), has been awarded the title of Queen’s Nurse by the community nursing charity The Queen’s Nursing Institute (QNI).

Working in Great Yarmouth for one of ECCH’s four Primary Care Home teams - which are multi-disciplinary teams of nurses, therapists and social workers who care for people in their own homes to help them avoid a stay in hospital - Naomi has been a community nurse since qualifying in 2005.

She began her career as a Nursing Auxiliary at the James Paget University Hospital and says she was inspired by the nurses she worked with to complete her training.

Then, as a student nurse, she had a mentor who delivered nursing care in patients’ own homes and decided that was where she wanted to progress.

She said: “I feel it is such a privilege to be a community nurse as I feel we are the heart of nursing.

"The care is more personal - the nurse knows her patient and we are guests in their homes.

"Receiving the Queen's Nurse title makes me feel proud of who I am as a nurse as I pride myself on delivering high standards of nursing care.

“Being a nurse is a way of life, not just my job.”

Naomi is one of five nurses at ECCH to receive the prestigious award and one of only 27 Queen’s Nurses in Norfolk and Suffolk.

The title denotes commitment to high standards of patient care, learning and leadership.

Dr Crystal Oldman CBE, chief executive of the QNI, said: “‘On behalf of the QNI I would like to congratulate Naomi and welcome her as a Queen’s Nurse."

ECCH - which provides NHS community health services across Norfolk and Waveney, with its headquarters based in Lowestoft - chief executive Ian Hutchison said: “This is a fantastic accolade for Naomi and very well deserved.

"She is a great advocate for her profession and is dedicated to ensuring her patients receive the best possible care.

"We’re really thrilled for her.”