Allyson Kent, Queen’s Nurse
5 December 2024
Queen’s Nurses and Staff of the Queen’s Nursing Institute were very saddened by the recent death of Queen’s Nurse Allyson Kent.
Allyson had been living with ovarian cancer and raised a huge amount for Ovacome – the ovarian cancer charity. She started walking every day after her cancer diagnosis and enjoyed the mental and physical benefits it gave her. She also discovered parkrun which she advocated for. You can read Allyson’s blog about walking a marathon every week here.
Moved by her experience of living with cancer and how words impact the patient, Allyson created a powerful film with playwright Libby Pearson, called ‘The Power of Words’ or ‘KPOW’, featuring three other Queen’s Nurses and funded by Macmillan. In Allyson’s words, ‘Every word you say to a sick vulnerable person has power. There is no such thing as a throw-away comment – once it’s heard by someone it’s too late. We can and must be honest and truthful but sensitive and empathic, we can always explain what we’re going to do before we do it.’
We were so saddened to hear of Allyson’s passing. She was a true inspiration. She leaves behind an incredible legacy: her compelling film raising awareness and advocating for patients everywhere. She will be greatly missed.
Professor John Unsworth OBE, Chair of the QNIAllyson joined the Keep in Touch Team in 2018 and was part of the programme for three years. Allyson’s compassion, commitment and care, as well as her wonderful smile and sense of humour, made her an integral and highly respected member of the KIT Team. Allyson will be greatly missed by us all but always remembered as an inspirational member of our Team.
Suzanne Rich, Support for Nurses Manager, the QNIYou can watch Kpow here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=verXuKHUdtk
We would like to express our sincere condolences to her family and friends at this very sad time.
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