Leanne Howlett, who gave up her previous career as a solicitor to become a mental health nurse, won the award for developing a Discharge Wellbeing Pack to support patients during their recovery at home.

Leanne created the pack while on a placement with Coventry and Warwickshire Partnership NHS Trust’s (CWPT) specialist children and young people’s mental health services, RISE, after she saw how daunting it was for some of the young people in her care who were being discharged.

Leanne’s creation has given young people a resource to take home, to reflect on their recovery and everything they learnt and achieved. Young people’s and parent feedback has been encouraging, improving their discharge experience and helping them to reframe it as something positive. The pack is now being used across wards within CWPT.

Leanne, who graduated from the BSc (Hons) Mental Health Nursing course in December, commented:

“I never thought I’d win, but it feels amazing and I’m still on a bit of a high from it. I’m really proud because when I created the wellbeing pack it was something I just did for my patients, I didn’t really think that it would do anything more or be any bigger than that. The impact it’s had still feels a little bit surreal.”

Leena Vinod, Senior Lecturer at Edge Hill University, who was on the judging panel, said:

“All our finalists in the Nursing Student category were impressive, but Leanne’s leadership really stood out. She identified a problem and developed a solution, working with young people to ensure that the pack really met their needs. Her change initiative has been embraced by Coventry and Warwickshire Partnership NHS Trust and is being rolled out widely to improve services. We are sure Leanne has a fantastic future ahead of her in nursing.”