“Unwavering dedication” Earns Nikoletta Siddique Excellence Award.
Nikoletta Siddique, Diabetes Specialist Nurse for North Central Division, Central London Community Healthcare NHS Trust, was the winner of the Excellence in Group Education award at the 2024 Celebrating DESMOND awards. This award is given to the person or team who has gone above and beyond and been exemplary in what they have achieved when delivering group education.
Nikoletta has been part of the North Central Division DESMOND team since its inception. When the DESMOND programme was first introduced across Barnet in April 2023, Nikoletta was enthusiastic about completing her training and achieved full DESMOND Educator accreditation a year later. Her proactive involvement ensured that the new programme was integrated smoothly across the area.
Anita Parobiec, Clinical Lead Diabetes Specialist Nurse, explains why she nominated Nikoletta for the award: “I nominated Nikoletta because of her unwavering dedication, compassion, and the exceptional quality of care she provides to our patients. She consistently goes above and beyond her role, whether it's through educating newly diagnosed individuals, delivering engaging DESMOND sessions, or creating innovative ways to raise awareness about diabetes prevention. Her willingness to take initiative, improve her skills, and support our team has made a lasting impact.”
Nikoletta has made significant contributions to the North Central Division DESMOND service, including creating a promotional video explaining the importance of early intervention.
She explains why she thinks education is key in supporting patients to self-manage their long-term health : “DESMOND for me means a solid foundation. I believe that by educating people about the nature of their condition, participants are less resistant in accepting medical interventions when necessary and will be able to keep their HbA1c at target much more.”
Nikoletta has also worked tirelessly to support the recruitment of Hindi-speaking patients to DESMOND groups as part of a project to reduce health inequalities in the Barnet area, which has been highly successful.
“Increasing the accessibility of DESMOND means that our educators can help more people”. Nikoletta shares how the education sessions she has run impact the people who
take part: “Our participants often tell us at the end of the day how many misconceptions they had about diabetes prior to the session and how much easier it is now to understand what is happening in their body.”
Alison Northern, LDC Implementation Lead at the DESMOND head office, said “On the day of the awards it was clear to see how proud the Barnet team are of what Nikoletta has achieved and the impact she has had on their DESMOND service since launching only a year previous. It is a real honour to be able to showcase such talent and I look forward to seeing where else Nikoletta and the Barnet team can take DESMOND. Here’s to many more years of success!”
Nikoletta was thrilled to receive the award, explaining how it has motivated her for the future: “Receiving the Excellence in Group Education award was amazing. It is such a privilege being able to work with my local team and the wider DESMOND organisation. Receiving the award for me is a motivation to carry on improving the service we provide. The award will always be in a prime location in my home.”