A SPECIALIST nurse has won a national award for her work with black and Asian groups.

Angie Ditchfield, a specialist organ donation nurse at East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust, has been honoured by receiving the Mary Seacole Leadership Award 2014.

And her award winning project - Changing attitudes towards organ donation within Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) Communities – is set to reach a new level thanks to the support provided by award organisers and sponsors led by Health Education England.

Angie was one of just six nurses to receive grants in a special ceremony at the Royal College of Nursing headquarters in London.

The awards were created in 1994 in honour of Mary Seacole, who was born in Jamaica in 1805 and made a significant contribution to nursing in the 19th century, including caring for wounded British soldiers during the Crimean War.

Julie Molyneaux, deputy chief nurse at the trust, said: “Everyone at the Trust is immensely proud of Angie. She makes a real difference to the health of the patients and communities we serve: an achievement that Mary Seacole would be proud of.”

Angie said: “I want to thank Health Education England and the other Mary Seacole Leadership Award sponsors for their professional and financial support."