'All that is great about nursing': Wolverhampton nurse recognised with national award

Sony Thattil, the sepsis lead nurse at The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust, has been made the trust's first digital nurse fellow by NHS England, the Faculty of Clinical Informatics, and NHSX - the Heath Service's digital arm.

The 35-year-old is one of 20 in a second group chosen nationally to receive the award, which honours those who use technology to improve healthcare systems by analysing data.

Sony said: “I am proud and humbled at the same time. I am honoured to represent women of colour in leadership.

“If this can influence one other person to excel on their journey and have the courage to believe in themselves and stand up for what they believe in, then I will be very happy.”

Originally from Kolkata, Sony moved to the UK to work as a nurse in 2009 and has been part of the sepsis team since it started in 2019, leading it since January 2021.

As part of her role, Sony is currently trying to develop a live dashboard of deteriorating patients which recognises triggers for sepsis.

“At the moment, if a patient flags up for sepsis, we are reliant on the nurse manually informing the doctor to see the patient, whereas if this is flagged up digitally, the clinician would be automatically informed,” said Sony. “We are working towards this.”

Sony, a mother of daughters aged seven and three, is currently in her first year studying for her third Master’s degree, in Advanced Clinical Practice.

She recently represented the trust in a national online conference on women in leadership, entitled ‘Lead, Learn, Discuss and Debate’.

Afterwards she received a glowing testimonial from Jon Wilks, chief executive for the Institute of Health and Social Care Management.

Mr Wilks said: “Gushing praise is reserved for very few people whom I have met, but I gushed simply on listening to and watching Sony’s video, and the audience was similarly overwhelmed.

“Here was someone who encapsulated all that is great about nursing, the NHS, leadership and care. She is altruistic, empathetic, fiercely determined and massively supportive of others seeking to improve themselves and their work.

“The next time anyone wants to find a role model for what the very best of workforce in the NHS or social care looks like, simply call The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust and ask for Sony.

“If the NHS senior management roles were occupied exclusively by Sony and clones thereof, it would be number one across every world metric worth measuring. She mesmerised me.”