Liverpool Lead Nurse recognised in New Year’s Honours List

Sarah Clarke has a long list of titles under her nursing belt, and she has just been awarded another.

Sarah is Director and Lead Nurse for the Cheshire & Mersey (& the Isle of Man) Major Trauma & Adult Critical Care Networks and she says she is “delighted” to be given the honour.

Sarah has specialised in critical care throughout her career, which has seen her travel the globe working in public and private healthcare. For the last 20 years, she has been an integral leader in critical care in the region and has most recently supported the NHS response to the COVID-19 pandemic in the North West.

The CMCCN consists of a small team of senior NHS staff who provide specialist clinical expertise, advice and guidance to providers and commissioners regarding major trauma and adult critical care pathways.

Sarah has led the evolution of the networks, working across organisational and professional boundaries to improve the patient pathway and define best practice. Nationally both networks have a high profile and are seen as exemplars of this network model.

Sarah said:

“I was so surprised when I was told I was getting an MBE in this year’s honours list. It’s been really difficult keeping it a secret! I am delighted by this award. My colleagues in the network work with me to promote equitable and safe care and they have been incredibly important. I’m very grateful to everyone involved for recognising my work in this way.”

Chief Executive of The Walton Centre, which hosts CMCCN and Chair of the Critical Care Operational Delivery Network Hayley Citrine said:

“I’m thrilled that Sarah has been awarded an MBE. Her personal experience, expertise and commitment have made a significant difference to patient care and how the region has managed its critical care resources.

“Sarah’s leadership skills in leading the team, working with the Medical Directors and initiating the ‘ICBIS’ database, the corner stone to operational requirements, have been second to none.

“She is an outstanding leader for the critical care network. I’m very proud of her and believe that she has contributed significantly to the high level of quality care for patients in the region who require urgent care.”

Throughout her career, Sarah has taken every opportunity to influence and support the delivery of safe, equitable high quality care for critically ill patients, supporting and facilitating development of critical care as a specialty, the empowerment of critical care nurses and wider nursing issues and has directly contributed to a number of national documents.

Her work has informed the development of national critical care nursing standards and education, the early stages of which she led through her role as chair of the National Critical Care Networks Nurse Leads (CC3N) as well as contributing to national specifications for critical care and major trauma services and the co-authorship of chapters in the Guidelines for the Provision of Intensive Care Services (GPICS, v1 & v2).