Good leadership in the NHS depends on creating a culture where "everybody's voice counts", Scotland's nurse of the year has said. Speaking to the Herald following her win at the Royal College of Nursing awards, Lynsey Russell, the senior charge nurse (SCN) for intensive care at Borders General hospital, said she was "absolutely dumbfounded" by the accolade. As well as scooping the top award, Mrs Russell - who was nominated by her colleagues - also won in the category for clinical leadership.
READ MORE: Shetland islander named Scotland's first 'nurse of the year' Nursing workforce crisis 'shows little sign of improvement', warns RCN Growth of two-tier healthcare 'beyond question' amid year-round 'perma-crisis' NHS She said: "I've worked with a lot of them for a long time - they call me the gaffer, and I like that. "I don't have a lot of hierarchy in the unit and I think that's good, because I've been in their shoes. "I've done that job, I know how hard it is.
"For me it was important to create a culture where absolutely everybody's voice counts. I think that's what makes good teamwork. "And I always make sure I do a clinical day every week.
That's really important to me, because to be a leader you should never be too big to do the small things. "One of my favourite jobs is still giving a man a wet shave." Mrs Russell, 47, from Tweedbank, was inspired to purse a career in nursing after her grandfather was admitted to hospital when she was a teenager.
She had previously hoped to.
