A Whitehaven nurse is one of the first in England to receive a new national credential.

Nicola Holden is an advanced nurse practitioner working in the Emergency Medical Admissions Unit at the West Cumberland Hospital.

She is one of only three nurses in the country to gain the new credential from the Royal College of Nursing (RCN).

Nicola said: "I’m very proud to have been awarded this credential and to have had the opportunity to work with the RCN to test it. To be one of only three nurses in the country to achieve this feels great.”

The credential, which will be launched more widely to nursing staff later this year, is a way of recognising and promoting nursing practice at an advanced level.

It is an opportunity for nurses to show their expertise and skill in their clinical practice, their leadership, their education and their research.

Anna Stabler, deputy director of nursing midwifery and allied health professionals at the North Cumbria University Hospitals Trust, said: “This is a brilliant achievement for both Nicola and the Trust.

"She provides an extremely valuable service to patients in West Cumbria and it is very well deserved.

"Nicola has helped shape something which will be very valuable to ANPs in the future and she should feel very proud to be a part of that.”