Consultant Nurse wins prestigious Marjory Warren Lifetime Achievement Award

Dr Gwyn Grout, an Independent Consultant Nurse, has been awarded the prestigious Marjory Warren Lifetime Achievement Award for her exceptional contribution to the welfare of older people over the course of her 34-year career. Dr Grout is the first nurse to have won the award and was selected by the Society’s Board of Trustees which includes healthcare professionals from across the UK. 

Dr Gwyn Grout’s illustrious career has spanned four decades, commencing in 1986 when she qualified as a Registered Mental Health Nurse. In 1998 she was appointed Advanced Clinical Nurse Specialist in Mental Health Liaison and became a Consultant Nurse in Mental Health Liaison for Older People in 2002. While working as a Consultant Nurse, she undertook a PhD in Sociology and was awarded her Doctorate in 2007.

A committed advocate for advancing educational opportunities for nurses, Dr Grout has been instrumental in developing the Advanced Clinical Practitioner curricula in Frailty and Mental Health for Health Education England (HEE) in the South East. In the last two years, this work has extended nationally, culminating in the development of the HEE multi-professional advanced and consultancy practice frameworks. Dr Grout was also a member of the guideline development group of NICE, developing the NICE Guidance for Depression with Chronic Health Problems, and was a member of the working group to develop the National Dementia Strategy for England in 2008. She has published articles in a number of peer reviewed journals and authored a chapter in the Handbook of Mental Health Nursing.

Dr Grout is a long-standing member of the BGS and was the first non-medical member of the BGS Education and Training Committee. She is widely acknowledged as a role model for her fellow nurses specialising in older people’s healthcare and her expertise and authority have been invaluable in the Society’s work to embrace the multidisciplinary nature of geriatric medicine.

Upon winning the award Dr Gwyn Grout commented:

I am flattered beyond belief to receive this wonderful accolade. As a nurse reaching the end of my career, it fills me with great pride to be honoured in this way, especially during the Year of the Nurse and as we remember the 200th anniversary of Florence Nightingale’s birth. It has been a great privilege to work alongside likeminded multi-disciplinary colleagues. I am sure that the new and aspiring leaders within the nurse and AHP BGS membership will continue to play an essential role within the Society.”