Coventry University students win Nursing Times award
Two Coventry University nursing students have been recognised for their work helping vulnerable people in Warwickshire access healthcare
Two nursing students from Coventry University have been recognised with a national award for helping vulnerable people in Warwickshire access vital healthcare.
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 pair became involved in the project while training as Nursing Associates with Coventry University and Leamington Spa Primary Care Network, working across local GP practices. They have since qualified and are now completing further nursing training alongside their roles.
The outreach clinics were developed with local partners after it was identified there were no dedicated healthcare services for people experiencing homelessness across Coventry and Warwickshire before 2024.
Fortnightly sessions are now held in Leamington Spa, helping people access basic health checks and ongoing support.
Florence Jack-Petter said: “It is an incredible honour to win this award. More importantly it shines a light on the importance of addressing health inequalities and recognising the impact of outreach work.”
Judges described the project as “an innovative, nurse-led and responsive service with a clear human touch,” praising the pair for being “instrumental” in setting it up.
Leah Kirkwood added: “Winning the Student Nursing Times Award shows that this work matters and that it has the potential to be used more widely.”
The clinics focus on early identification of health issues such as high blood pressure, with around a third of people attending needing further treatment or support. The project has also helped improve engagement with GP services and reduce reliance on emergency care.
Dr David Maud said: “Leah and Florence have been crucial to the success of the outreach clinics. Managing blood pressure is often overlooked in this hard-to-reach population and I’m pleased their work has been recognised.”
Both students hope the project can now be expanded across other areas to help tackle health inequalities.