Nurse wins award for invention which will help people with asthma

Norfolk school nurse receives business award from university

Edited by Andy Porter editor@wellbeingnorfolk.co.uk

An innovative school nurse working in west Norfolk has received a prestigious award in recognition of his commitment to creating new ways to help people.
Paul Watson, [pictured right] a school nurse from Norfolk Community Health and Care NHS Trust received the Alumni Success in Business Award from Professor Michael Thorne, [left] vice chancellor of Anglia Ruskin University.
He has been awarded the honour after bringing together his passion as an inventor and his nursing expertise to create a new type of pocket–sized ‘spacer’, a piece of equipment used by people with asthma. His invention could make it easier for patients across the country to efficiently use their asthma medication.
A spacer is a large container with a mouthpiece at one end and a hole where an inhaler attaches at the other. The inhaler is sprayed into the container and the person breathes in the medication through the mouthpiece.

Inspired by his daughter who has asthma, Paul developed a prototype for a more compact and reshaped spacer. The new spacer design makes it easier for people with asthma to carry with them as it collapses into a small space, while its conical shape ensures all of the medication released after spraying the inhaler reaches the patient’s lungs.
With help from Health Enterprise East, the region’s NHS innovation hub, Paul’s new design, the Pocketflow Compact Spacer, is now being produced commercially by Vivo Smart Medical Devices.
During his early career Paul worked across the country within engineering and design roles, but has since held a number of clinical positions within the NHS and graduated from Anglia Ruskin University in 2007 with a BA [Hons] in Primary and Community Care and Specialist Practice [School Nurse].
Paul received his award during a student graduation ceremony at the Corn Exchange in Cambridge.

http://www.wellbeingnorfolk.co.uk/2011/10/west-norfolk-school-nurse-receives.html