CHAS nurses finalists in prestigious 2026 RCN Awards
Two long-serving CHAS nursing staff members have been unveiled as finalists in the 2026 RCN Nurse of the Year Awards.
Caroline Porter, who is one of three Diana Children’s Nurses (DCNs) employed by CHAS and Nicky Bridges, who recently retired from her role as Associate Director for Outreach Services have both been shortlisted for the Children’s Nursing and Midwifery Award.
Now in their fourth year, the RCN Nurse of the Year Awards celebrate the very best in Scottish nursing, shining a spotlight on excellence and honouring the unwavering dedication and outstanding care delivered by Scotland’s nursing professionals.
Caroline, from Helensburgh, has been a Diana Children’s Nurse with CHAS for 12 years and has over 35 years of nursing experience. A registered General Nurse, Children’s Nurse and Independent Prescriber, she spent a decade in Paediatric Intensive Care at Yorkhill Hospital before becoming a Community Children’s Nurse in West Dunbartonshire and Helensburgh.
After seven years in community nursing, she joined Robin House Children’s Hospice as a Senior Staff Nurse and Deputy Director of Care. In 2014, she became the Diana Children’s Nurse for the West of Scotland and has since been based at the Royal Hospital for Children, Glasgow.
In her role, Caroline provides specialist palliative care across hospital, home and hospice settings, supporting families of children with life-limiting conditions and helping them choose their preferred place of care, particularly at end of life. She is also deeply involved in education, workforce development and national service improvement through the PELiCaN Managed Clinical Network and previously co-chaired the Scottish Children and Young People’s Palliative Care Network.
A career highlight came in 2018 when Caroline was awarded the historic Queen’s Nurse title, making her the first nurse in Scotland to hold both Diana and Queen’s Nurse status.
Caroline said: "It is a lovely honour to be nominated and then selected as a finalist in the RCN Scotland awards. It is a complete privilege to work with the children and families requiring palliative care and it also a huge honour to work as a member of multiple teams that provide palliative care across Scotland. It's the teamwork that allows us to deliver excellent care.”
Nicky Bridges, who also resides in Helensburgh, worked at CHAS for 17 years before retiring at the end of 2025 with her most recent role being Associate Director for Outreach at the Children's Hospice Association Scotland (CHAS), where she led the development and integration of the CHAS at home nursing team, family support team, Diana Children’s Nurses and Hospital teams. Prior to this she was Clinical Nurse Manager for CHAS’ two children’s hospices – Rachel and Robin House.
A registered children’s nurse, with over 25 years’ experience, Nicky has worked in a variety of settings including district general hospitals, children’s hospitals, community and hospice.
Nicky was extremely instrumental in leading the redesign of CHAS’s community nursing service in response to the COVID pandemic, ensuring that staff were mobilised to work across services in order to meet the needs of children and families. This re-design has resulted in greater partnership working with health and social care, and other third sector organisations.
She said: “I am delighted to have been shortlisted for this award and to have my work recognised alongside all the other exceptional nurses, including my friend and colleague Caroline. I am truly honoured to be a children's nurse, and I couldn't have achieved this without the support of CHAS.”
Commenting on the announcement of the finalists, Jen Rodgers, Director of Nursing and Family Support at CHAS said: “Having two finalists for the RCN Scotland’s Children's Nursing and Midwifery Award is an exceptional honour for CHAS. This recognition reflects the unwavering dedication, compassion and professionalism our teams demonstrate every day as they deliver outstanding care to children and families across Scotland. I am immensely proud of the commitment shown by both Nicky and Caroline and all their colleagues throughout our service. Their hard work, expertise and collaborative spirit continue to make a profound and lasting difference to the children and families we support.”
Commenting on the announcement of the finalists, Julie Lamberth, RCN Scotland Board Chair, said: "Our Awards are a defining moment in the nursing calendar — a time to celebrate everything that makes our profession extraordinary in Scotland. The incredible volume and quality of nominations speak to the nursing excellence Scotland has, even if they made the judges’ task of selecting finalists a formidable challenge. Every one of our finalists stands as a shining example of the dedication, compassion, and commitment that drive the very best of nursing care for the people of Scotland."
Colin Poolman, RCN Scotland Executive Director, champions the awards, saying: "This is our opportunity to acknowledge the excellence, innovation, and unwavering commitment of Scotland’s nursing community.”
The winners will be unveiled at an award ceremony on 30 April 2026 hosted at the National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh.