Sarah Jackson, Consultant Nurse and Associate Director of Nursing for Autism Services, has been awarded Forum Committee Member of the Year for her work on the RCN Learning Disabilities Forum.
The national awards ceremony, held on International Nurses Day in Liverpool, marked the opening ceremony of the RCN congress 2025. In total 30 individuals were celebrated for their significant impact on the nursing profession with each award winner being nominated by their nursing peers for their unwavering dedication, pioneering work and outstanding contributions.
The Forum Achievement awards celebrate members’ outstanding contributions to the RCN’s professional forums.
Sarah explained:
“I had submitted an emergency resolution at Congress 2023 calling for an end to the inappropriate placement of autistic people, and Congress unanimously supported this resolution, resulting in a commitment to develop an RCN position statement. I then engaged multiple stakeholders from across the UK to devise this position statement, held member engagement webinars on this topic and then navigated the RCN governance processes.
The position statement was published in 2024 and will undoubtedly support autistic people to receive improved support and care and raise the profile of the needs of autistic people across healthcare.”
Sarah has worked for the Trust for four years and has been instrumental in the development of our Specialist Autism Services. Her dedication to improving support for autistic people and their families is evident through the work that she has undertaken during this time.
On receiving her award Sarah commented:
“I’m really grateful and honoured to receive this RCN Forum Committee Member of the Year award. Being part of the RCN Learning Disability Forum has given me the opportunity to champion the needs of autistic people, and work together with others to think about how we can reduce health inequalities through autism-focused research, training and workforce planning. I’m really looking forward to what comes next.”
