A HAMPSHIRE nurse who helped transform the life of a patient thanks to her dedication and willingness to listen has been hailed a hero.

Long-suffering Julie Imeson had battled with illness for more than 30 years but all that changed since meeting specialist nurse Leigh Carrol-Moriarty.

Always at the end of the phone and determined not to stop until her patients were comfortable, endocrine nurse specialist Carrol-Moriarty helped the 58- year-old reclaim her life.

So to thank her for her neverending care and relentless work ethic, Julie has nominated her nurse for the Daily Echo’s Hospital Heroes Award.

Since the mid-70s, Julie has suffered from problems with her endocrine system – glands that secrete hormones into the bloodstream – which left her feeling weak, sleepy and unable to get on with a normal life.

But after an emergency admission in April to Southampton General Hospital, nurse Carrol- Moriarty made it her mission to work out the complexities of Julie’s condition and ensure her treatment was tackling them.

Julie, from Woolston, said: “If it wasn’t for nurses like Leigh then patients like me would be left alone, not knowing what to do next.

“My condition is very complex, so there are not always easy solutions, so to know there are nurses like her who will continue to trundle along doing a terrific job to make sure I am stabilised is a great relief.

“At one point my condition was so bad that I couldn’t continue like that any longer and she was at the other end of the phone, listening to my symptoms, trying to work out what treatment changes I needed. She made the required changes and it made a massive change to my life. It was incredible and I haven’t looked back since.”

Daily Echo readers can nominate anyone employed by the trust which runs Southampton General Hospital, the Princess Anne Hospital and Countess Mountbatten House, as well as some services at the Royal South Hants Hospital.

Nurse Carrol-Moriarty said: “I am extremely touched that I have been nominated for this award, it is an accolade that I’d never dreamed of even being put forward for.”