For nearly three decades, Frimley Health’s respiratory consultant nurse Joanne King has been diligently caring for patients across East Berkshire.

Now her commitment to community nursing has been recognised after she was awarded the title of Queen’s Nurse by the Queen's Nursing Institute.

The Queen’s Nurse title is available across England, Wales and Northern Ireland to nurses with a minimum of five years’ experience working in the community who demonstrate a high level of commitment to patient care and nursing practice. According to the Queen’s Nursing Institute, the title “provides formal recognition of the nurse’s commitment to improving care for patients".

Joanne qualified as a nurse in 1991 and for the past 15 years has been based at the chest clinic in King Edward VII hospital in Windsor. She was the driving force behind Frimley Health’s comprehensive Adult Integrated Respiratory (AIR) service, a ‘one-stop shop’ for patients with airways disease promoting self-management and improving access to specialist services. Since its launch, the AIR service has provided respiratory services across community and secondary care and has significantly reduced overall hospital admissions and unnecessary A&E attendance.

Joanne said: “I feel delighted and privileged to receive this title.  It’s great that they talk about this ‘shared professional identity’ one that I wanted to share with peers and now can. Being awarded the Queens Nurse title is about commitment to deliver the best standard of care to people; for me, those with respiratory illness in their preferred place of care.”

Mena Vallance, head of nursing for specialist medicine, said: “Being awarded the title of Queen’s Nurse is thoroughly deserved. Jo truly is a shining role model for our profession. Through her leadership she has changed the way we deliver respiratory care in the community but first and foremost she is simply a fantastically caring and compassionate nurse who puts excellent patient care at the heart of everything she does.” 

In other recognition for Joanne’s work, the consultant nurse has been announced as the ICS lead for respiratory elective recovery and pathway transformation where she will play an important role in shaping the future of patient care across primary, community and hospital care across the region. Joanne is also the chair of ARNS (Association of Respiratory Nurses), a national body which champions the specialty respiratory nursing community and promotes excellence in practice.