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A student nurse who was inspired to take up the caring profession following volunteer work in Ghana has been recognised with a special award from the �鶹��Ƶ. Flora Allison, who is 23 and from Farnham in Surrey, has recently completed her degree studies and will graduate in a ceremony at Chichester Cathedral next month.

Flora received the Student Nurse Academic Achievement Award from Dr Nita Muir, Head of Nursing and Allied Health at the �鶹��Ƶ and Rod Gilchrist who co-sponsored the award in memory of his mother Mary Gilchrist, a local nurse.

Local couple Rod and Joy Gilchrist kindly donated £15,000 to the university’s nursing school which has been match-funded by My University Hospitals Sussex Charity which supports patient care at St Richard’s Hospital in Chichester and at six other NHS hospitals in Sussex. The generous bursary will fund the Student Nurse Academic Achievement award of £500 per year, open to final year students, for the next thirty years, and the Mary Gilchrist Prize for Academic Endeavour Against the Odds for second year students, which also has a £500 prize.

Flora said: “I’ve always known from a very young age that I wanted to help people and make a difference. When I was 17 I went to Ghana and worked in medical clinics in rural areas for three weeks, which we organised ourselves with the help of Farnham College. It was a completely different world where I was looking after very young children with malaria. From that moment on I knew I wanted to be a nurse. It was a great experience.”

Flora initially began a nursing course at the University of York but when Covid hit she found the distance from home a challenge. Looking around for a new course closer to home, Flora chose to take up a nursing degree at the �鶹��Ƶ. She will begin her new nursing role in September, working in community nursing in the Farnham area. Community nursing is Flora’s passion because of the close connections she can build with her patients. In future she may study for a Masters and is also interested in hospice/end-of-life care.

Flora added: “The community here at Chichester is small but very supportive. Everyone here believes in each other and encourages us to succeed. I’ve also had some fantastic placements both on wards and in the local community. I cried when I heard about winning this award. I worked so hard and it’s great to be recognised for that. I’m honoured!”

Nita Muir, Head of the School of Nursing and Allied Health at the �鶹��Ƶ said: “I am delighted to present Flora with this award which recognises her hard work and outstanding academic achievement throughout the three years of her degree studies. Flora will make an excellent nurse and will be an asset to the community. If you would like to follow in Flora’s footsteps and train to become a nurse, places are still available for both our undergraduate and postgraduate courses – visit our website for more details.”

Steve Crump, Director of My University Hospitals Sussex Charity, said: “We are delighted to recognise the extraordinary work of nursing students and the memory of Mary Gilchrist through this joint bursary. Education and continuous professional development are key to effective care for patients and the developing careers of NHS staff. This is why My UHSussex Charity funds learning and development in all the hospitals it supports, from bursaries such as this one through to simulation suites that allow NHS staff to hone new clinical skills, safely and effectively.”

Mary Gilchrist was a pioneering nurse during the mid-20th century, serving as a theatre sister in London hospitals during the darkest days of the Second World War, narrowly missing death from German bombs on many occasions. She later trained as a midwife and psychiatric nurse, dedicating herself to helping children with disabilities and their parents among the poor of East London for which she won many awards. Mary, who was a resident of Fontwell and Summersdale in Chichester, was an important supporter of St Richards Hospital Chichester, where she died in 2013 aged 99.