“It means the world to us” - two Royal Derby teams presented Patient Hero award after glowing patient nomination
Two teams at Royal Derby Hospital have been surprised with the latest Patient Hero Monthly Making a Difference Award following a heartfelt letter of thanks from a secondary breast cancer patient.
The Combined Triage Assessment Unit (CTAU) and Combined Daycase Unit (CDU) were nominated by Jessica, who has spent several months receiving treatment for cancer in the two units.
In her letter, Jessica thanked the entire team at both units, calling them an “incredible army” of support who have helped her through every step of her treatment – saying that she would “always be so grateful for the outstanding level of care they’ve provided to me”.
CTAU is a Same Day Emergency Care (SDEC) department that aims to treat cancer patients who become very unwell during their treatment to help prevent their admission into hospital. CDU also offers treatments for patients with cancers and blood disorders, with many of the patients visiting the department frequently for treatment.
The two units are nurse-led and work closely together caring for patients for both assessments and treatments, including chemotherapy, immunotherapy and radiotherapy, as well as offering general support and guidance.
Amanda Davis and Hannah Bailey, Sisters in CTAU and CDU respectively, alongside Chris Ayre, a Clinical Support Worker in CDU, accepted the award on behalf of their teams.
Amanda said she knew the “amazing” Jessica well through her treatment, and always fed back on how grateful she was – but that reading the letter from her “really brought home the difference that can be made to a patient’s journey”.
She continued: “It’s so nice to know you’re getting things right. I can’t put into words how important it is for staff to get this sort of feedback. We as staff don’t ‘want the world’ – we just want to get the recognition that we’re doing good for our patients and the community.
“Whether it’s an extremely thoughtful letter from a patient undergoing treatment, or someone coming down here to thank us for our work – it makes such a difference and helps us strive to do better every single day."
Hannah was similarly touched by Jessica’s letter and award nomination: “I was quite teary reading it. We see our patients regularly, and you get to know them and their story really well. To read in detail the ways in which we supported a patient and made their time with us much easier in their own words – it was so touching.
“It makes you stop for a second a think about the difference you make – and realise that it’s not just ‘another day at work’. To come back to us in her own time to say thank you, despite all that she’s gone through, means the world to us.”
Chris agreed, saying: “It’s a huge morale boost to all of us. We’ve all worked so hard in the last year or more, and receiving this award makes me proud to put the uniform and get to work alongside this amazing team every day.”
Sharon Martin, Chief Executive Operating Officer at UHDB, presented the award to colleagues from the two teams – congratulating them not just on the care they provided the patient, but all patients undergoing extensive, and often very challenging treatments:
“It was wonderful to hear Jessica’s experience of the CTAU and the CDU, but not surprising! You do a phenomenal job for our patients, helping to make what can be a very challenging course of treatment just that little bit easier.
“It really goes to show the positive impact of collaboration, mutually enhancing the quality of the care each unit provides to patients. Working together, CTAU and CDU also help improve patient flow, getting patients seen for the right treatment, by the right team, at the right time. By doing this, it also helps to free up capacity in other areas, such as A&E.
“They always put the patient first and I am glad that was recognised by Jessica – I’m confident there are so many other patients who come through their doors and feel exactly the same way.”
Nominate a UHDB colleague for a Monthly Making a Difference Award
If you would like to nominate a colleague or team for a Monthly Making a Difference Award, please let us know.
There are four monthly Making a Difference Awards categories:
- Chief Executive Award – chosen by our CEO
- Patient Hero Award – nominated by patients
- Team UHDB Award – you can nominate your team or another team
- Excellent Employee Award – you can nominate your colleagues
You can send a 300 word nomination, along with the name of the team or individual, their job title and where they work, to: uhdb.employeeawards@nhs.net.