A MUM whose severely ill son was nursed at Oxford Children’s Hospital has nominated two “incredible” nurses for this year’s Hospital Heroes award.

Hazel Scott wanted to thank paediatric nurses Pip Lawrence and Jayne Gallagher for getting her son Oscar Scott Towers well enough to return home after he contracted a chest infection following an operation in Southampton.

As a result, she nominated the pair for the Hospital Heroes award, which celebrates the best in patient care across Oxford University Hospitals NHS Trust.

The 11-year-old from Wheatley has suffered kidney, brain and heart problems throughout his life due to a number of genetic conditions. He has had to undergo 18 operations, including major heart surgery in March.

After spending five weeks recovering in Southampton the youngster was transferred to the Oxford Children’s Hospital High Dependency Unit (HDU).

The boy’s 41-year-old mother was worried he would have trouble getting back to the same level of fitness as when he was able to walk short distances with a walking aid.

The PR director said: “People were saying that it would take Oscar years to recover, but we knew if we could get home he would start improving.”

As well as various other forms of therapy, Oscar has received help from Dorchester-based charity Footsteps, which helps children who have trouble walking due to disabilities to take their first steps.

Although the mother-of-three was anxious to get Oscar home, two nurses helped the severely ill boy make a speedy recovery, and within 11 weeks he was off ventilation machines and back home.

Ms Scott said: “They were extremely supportive and understood he needed to get home as soon as possible.

“He’s made a miraculous recovery now, quicker than anyone expected.”

Crucial to his recovery was HDU staff nurse Pip Lawrence.

The 29-year-old spent a lot of time with Oscar and his mum.

She said: “He was transferred from Southampton with quite a nasty chest infection which isn’t uncommon.

“When he was with me I did my best to wean him off some of the machines and I also spent time trying to get him to walk, just to give him a bit of routine and feel more like he was at home.”

Advanced paediatric respiratory nurse Jayne Gallagher liaised with community nurses and Oscar’s doctors to make sure there was adequate care for him when he returned home.

She said: “I think as nurses we generally focus on what we don’t do as well, so it’s nice to be appreciated for the things we do.”