Royal honour for Haywards Heath mum who revolutionised health care across England

Sherree Fagge has been awarded the British Empire Medal in the King’s Birthday Honours.

Sherree has been head of nursing palliative and end of life care for NHS England for the past six years and has revolutionised care given to the dying.

“I was working with teams of people who wanted to make a difference,” said Sherree. “It was a joy.” And, she said, she felt ‘honoured’ to receive the BEM.

She is now facing a new NHS challenge as she looks at developing a national programme to improve the healthcare of women.

Sherree, 65, first began her career as a cadet nurse at St Francis Hospital in Haywards Heath in 1974 before going on to work at Cuckfield Hospital and at The Princess Royal Hospital in Haywards Heath.

She was later promoted to chief nurse at the Royal Sussex County Hospital in Brighton where she stayed for six years.

She went on to be offered an opportunity to work for NHS England in a national role. “The chance to do the thing I love – care – across the whole of England was a great opportunity.”

Sherree is commended for her work in a Cabinet Office citation announcing her award ‘for services to healthcare.’ It states: “She has significantly improved the care of patients at the end of their lives, given health care workers the confidence to care for the dying, and become a national leader in this field of care.”

It says that Sherree, “took on this programme by sharing best practice across England, undertaking numerous supportive improvement site visits, and leading two national conferences,” adding: “She has travelled across England to provide support and advice to struggling organisations, worked weekends (unpaid) to provide telephone advice to hospices and healthcare organisations during the pandemic.”

Through her efforts, it said, improvements had been made by health care providers across the country which had been recognised by the Care Quality Commission.

Sheree will be invested with her award at a local ceremony. But, she added: “I do get to go to one of the royal garden parties – I’ll have to buy a new outfit.”