Coventry University students win Nursing Times award for improving access to healthcare

Two Coventry University nursing students have been recognised with a national award for their work helping some of Warwickshire’s most vulnerable people access vital healthcare services.

Leah Kirkwood and Florence Jack‑Petter won the Student Innovation in Practice award at the Student Nursing Times Awards 2026 for a community outreach project supporting people experiencing homelessness and addiction to access primary care.

The Warwickshire‑based pair became involved in the project while training as Nursing Associates with Coventry University and Leamington Spa Primary Care Network (PCN), working across GP practices in the area. They have since qualified as Nursing Associates and are now completing a nursing degree top‑up qualification at Coventry University, alongside their GP Nursing Associate roles.

The outreach clinics were developed with Leamington Spa PCN, Helping Hands Community Project and GP Dr David Maud after it was identified that there were no dedicated outreach healthcare clinics for people experiencing homelessness across Coventry and Warwickshire prior to 2024.

As part of the project, fortnightly clinics were launched at Helping Hands’ community centre in Leamington Spa. Before this, many people experiencing homelessness struggled to get basic health checks, such as blood pressure monitoring, and often relied on Accident and Emergency services when unwell.

Leah and Florence are central to running the clinics, supported by Dr Maud and a PCN care co‑ordinator. The sessions focus on early identification of health issues, including high blood pressure, with around a third of attendees found to need further support or treatment.

The Nursing Times judges praised the pair as being “instrumental” in setting up the project which is “an innovative, nurse‑led and responsive service with a clear human touch and a patient‑centred approach” and highlighted Leah and Florence’s leadership in pioneering a hypertension (blood pressure) clinic and demonstrating impact through measurable outcomes.

Mother‑of‑one Leah, 45, who previously worked in administration and physiotherapy, and mother-of-two, Florence, 30, a former healthcare support worker in an acute psychiatric ward, said the Coventry University apprenticeship route, which combines academic study with clinical practice, enabled them to retrain while supporting their families and gaining hands on experience.

The project has already delivered clear benefits, including improved blood pressure control, increased engagement with primary care and reduced reliance on emergency services, with many patients supported to re‑register with local GP practices.

Leah and Florence hope the project can now be rolled out across other Primary Care Networks to help tackle health inequalities across the region.

Follow in Leah and Florence’s footsteps.