Hartlepool nurse enjoys an evening with royalty at Buckingham Palace

Stacy McTeer was invited to an event at Buckingham Palace, hosted by Prince Charles and Sophie, the Countess of Wessex.

The two-hour evening reception was intended to thank nurses from across the country for their hard work.

Stacy, 28, who is a ward manager at Middlesbrough’s James Cook Hospital, was nominated by her management at the South Tees NHS Trust.

But the first she knew about it was when she opened the invitation from the Palace.

“I was nominated by my senior colleagues for my leadership on the ward,” she said.

“I only found out about it three weeks ago, when I received an invitation in the post.

“That was the first I knew.”

Stacy was so taken aback by the letter that she initially assumed the invitation must be a joke.

“I just thought it was a bit of a wind-up but then my bosses came back and told me that they had actually nominated me,” she said.

“I was quite shocked that I was nominated but very grateful, because I knew what an honour it was.

“It was to thank nurses from hospitals across the country for all the hard work that they do.”

With so many people in attendance, Stacy didn’t get to do much more than nod hello to her Royal hosts - but she still had a fantastic time.

“It was really good,” she said.

“I met a lot of nurses from all over country, there were people from as far away as Scotland.

“Prince Charles was chatting and mingling with everyone.

“It was quite a large room and there would be about 200 people there.”

Stacy was nominated for her work running the hospital’s Ward 8.

“I have been a ward manager since January 2017,” she said.

The hospital quizzes patients on their experience and asks them to rate the care their receive on a scale from one to ten.

“The average rating has gone from eight to above nine,” said Stacy. “The hospital’s target is nine out of ten.”

Stacy’s time on the ward has also seen four of her team nominated for Nightingale awards in recognition of their nursing excellence.

“I feel like a proud mam,” said Stacy.