A CHILDREN'S nurse in Southampton has won a national award after helping a family cope with their daughter's heartbreaking diagnosis.

Sarah Hartfree has won Patient's Choice at the Nursing Standard Nurse Awards for her work at Southampton Children's Hospital.

She was nominated by the mother of her young patient Isabella Archer, who was diagnosed with juvenile arthritis when she was a one-year-old.

Sarah, who has been a nurse for 13 years and a paediatric rheumatology specialist for the past five, always had a huge smile for her patient according to mum Gabrielle Archer.

She said: “Isabella was petrified, unable to walk and in constant pain. She had been poked and prodded so many times it was a struggle for anyone to get close and she could not have physio as she would just scream at her therapist. Then we met Sarah.

“We saw her two or three times a week in those first months of the diagnosis and she was there to reassure us as often as we needed it - even if it meant returning our calls outside working hours.

“Any signs of new disease or struggle with control of disease, she would have Bella booked in to the next clinic and was always there to meet her with a huge smile.”

Now Sarah has been one of four nurses to be shortlisted and win an award at the ceremony in London, which allows members of the public to thank a nurse who has made a real difference to the healthcare in their family.

Gabrielle added: “We are almost three years in to Isabella's journey and, without Sarah, I don't know how I would have got through those first few months or the dark days that have followed in between - I could never thank her enough.”

Sarah added: “I was gobsmacked to be nominated in the first place as there are so many great nurses out there but, at the same time, I felt extremely honoured.

“To then go on and win the award following a public vote is a truly amazing feeling and I hope it helps to put the spotlight on paediatric rheumatology and highlight just how important it is for families to be supported in a variety of ways.”

She added: “I met the Archer family quite early into this role and they were in need - I have just been able to be there at the right time for them. Mummy is the real superhero here and I would like to thank her for taking the time and effort to make such a wonderful gesture of thanks to me.”