A NURSE from Salisbury has been awarded by the Royal College of Nursing for outstanding contribution.

Derek Blackshaw was presented with an Award of Merit from the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) during the opening ceremony of its congress in Harrogate.

Mr Blackshaw, who lives in Feversham Road, trained in the late 1960s at Herrison Hospital in Dorchester as a general nurse.

He then trained as a psychiatric nurse, a position he held for most of his career.

After promotions to the Royal United Hospital in Bath and Roundway Hospital in Devizes, Mr Blackshaw, 65, moved to Salisbury where he was the head of mental health at The Old Manor psychiatric hospital in Wilton Road. “I started nursing at the age of 18 as a way of finding out about people,” he said. “It was people that interested me and it was a way of working with them.”

Mr Blackshaw worked at The Old Manor throughout the 80s before he became a nurse advisor for the Wiltshire Health Authority.

He has become one of the leading nurses in the country in his current position as an independent nursing consultant and expert witness.

“The key for me is not just doing things for people but helping people help themselves and it’s just a joy,” he said. “It’s a great psychological buzz when someone you have helped has got better.”

Mr Blackshaw has been involved in the Royal College of Nursing since he qualified as a nurse and he has held office nationally, been on the agenda committee for the congress and other national groups, and he has been officer of the local branch for many years.

His wife, Susan, went along for the presentation last Sunday and his daughters Liz and Amanda were able to watch on a live video feed.

Mr Blackshaw said: “I felt really chuffed not just because it was a national award but because my colleagues here in Salisbury and south Wiltshire had nominated me for it. It was a very proud moment to be recognised by the RCN.”