Surgeon's photo scoops national accolade

Conrad Lee, 29, received the accolade after submitting a photograph in the Royal College of Nursing’s (RCN) Care on Camera competition.

His image, entitled Scrub Angel, was chosen for the silver award from more than 800 entries, all taken with a view to capturing the diversity of contemporary nursing in the UK.

The image shows a theatre nurse ahead of an operation.

Conrad, a surgeon working in trauma and orthopaedics, said: “I am really honoured to receive this award.

“The subject of my photo is one of our scrub nurses who works regularly with me in theatres. She and all the theatre nurses are absolutely fantastic and I really do think the fact many operations goes so smoothly is because of their hard work.

“I wanted to convey a sense of professionalism and give a glimpse into the role of scrub nurses in this photo.

“The way she has the surgical instruments all neatly laid out, her strong eye contact, and the way the hands are positioned reflects the readiness of a scrub nurse in an operation. A great scrub nurse is always several steps ahead of the surgeon, and they are integral part of the surgical team.”

Patricia Marquis, South East region director, said: “The photograph that Conrad has taken is stunning and very evocative. The standard of entries was so high so this award is richly deserved.”

Care on Camera was open to both amateur and professional photographers and was run in association with the Royal Photographic Society and sponsored by NHS Employers.

The judging panel included RCN chief executive and general secretary Janet Davies, BBC journalist Huw Edwards, RPS director-general Dr Michael Pritchard and NHS Employers’ chief executive Danny Mortimer.

The competition shortlist, including the winning photographs, will now form a touring exhibition visiting schools, libraries, and various health settings around the UK as part of RCN’s centenary celebrations.

Danny Mortimer said: “The competition entries reflected nursing in all its diversity and captured the positivity nursing staff feel about their profession and the care they provide to their patients.”

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