Tendai Nzirawa received the RCN Fellowship in recognition of her innovative contribution to the field of maternity care and her commitment to addressing the inequalities experienced by the most deprived and vulnerable women in the East of England.
The award was announced at the first face-to-face RCN Congress to be held since 2019.
The RCN elects a small number of new Fellows and Honorary Fellows each year to recognise practitioners, researchers, educationalists and leaders who share the RCN's commitment to advancing the art and science of nursing and the improvement of health care.
Nominees are put forward by peers to acknowledge the experience, accomplishments and dedication to the nursing profession.
Tendai delivered a programme of cultural awareness training, creating workshops and developing sustainable maternity and neonatal care pathways for different groups across the East of England, supporting more than 17 maternity and neonatal services.
She also established a mechanism for progressing the emerging themes brought to light through Covid-19 and anchored this work as part of the regional and system response.
In addition, she organised continuous glucose monitoring for all pregnant women with type 1 diabetes mellitus across the region and improved the specialist perinatal mental health service ensuring all women have easier access to these services.
