MBE for Health Sciences academic practitioner
Consultant Nurse and academic practitioner at the University of Southampton, David Ferguson, has recently been awarded a prestigious MBE.
The honour was awarded for services to nursing and came as a complete shock to David, who said: "This was such a wonderful surprise! I am immensely proud to be a Learning Disability Nurse.
"To be recognised for the work I have undertaken in making the health needs of people with a learning disability better understood and addressed is a wonderful end to this chapter in my career."
David qualified as a Registered Nurse (Learning Disabilities) in 1984 and spent most of his early nursing career working within Portsmouth and Southampton Community Learning Disability Services in Community Nurse and Clinical Nurse Specialist posts.
Alongside his role of Consultant Nurse (Learning Disabilities) at the Southern Health NHS Foundation Trust, David has held an academic role at the University of Southampton since 1998.
David worked as a Teaching Fellow in Health Sciences from 1998 - 2001 and has been in his current role of academic practitioner since July 2001. David retires from the post on 31st March 2013.
A Queen's honour is considered to be the most prestigious personal award a civilian can receive and can prove to be a life changing experience for many recipients.