Making a Difference - Award Winners

Our UHDB Bereavement Teams have been awarded our Team UHDB Award for the heartfelt and compassionate work they carry out when helping families through the agony of losing of a loved one, especially throughout the Coronavirus pandemic.

Over the last 10 months, due to the pandemic, our Bereavement Service has had to adjust their service to meet the demands of the pandemic, but has still managed to maintain an exceptional service supporting families despite the increase in workload.

The team based at Queen’s Hospital Burton and Royal Derby Hospital was nominated by a colleague. A member of the team said: “We have not only looked after Bereaved families, but also stood by and supported each other in our personal difficulties related to Coronavirus, that have arisen during what has often been very difficult days.

“Dealing with grief every day is never easy, but it has been made particularly difficult given all the restrictions that we have had to put into place due to the pandemic; for example, the lack of face to face contact and comfort families have been able to provide for their loved ones and in turn that we have been unable to provide to them.

“With the number of deaths greatly increased during the pandemic, and being a support for other colleagues, we rose to the challenge and are very proud of the service we provide to our colleagues and the general public every day.”

Gavin Boyle, Chief Executive, presented the teams with their awards via MS Teams due to social distancing measures. He said: “As a Trust, I think we have an amazing Bereavement Team. I can’t imagine how difficult it has been for you all as a team, especially with the increased workload and emotional demand that has come with your role throughout the pandemic. This award is a massive thank you and well done to you all for everything that you have been doing for Team UHDB and our communities.”

Read more about the services our bereavement team can offer >

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 Gavin Boyle

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.

The Receipts and Distribution Team at Royal Derby Hospital have been awarded the Team UHDB Monthly Making a Difference Award for October.

The team have been recognised for their consistent hard work in ensuring PPE has been readily available and delivered to everyone at RDH, as well as making sure routine deliveries arrive on time.

Sharon Martin, Executive Chief Operating Officer, presented the team with the award, and praised the outstanding job the team has done and continues to do.

She said: “This award is not just for everything you’ve done regarding PPE distribution, but for everything else you do. We all just assume that something we’ve ordered will turn up as expected, but that’s all thanks to your commitment and hard work. Without you, we wouldn’t have been able to do what we’ve done over the past few months, so thank you very much.”

Simon Redford, Receipts and Distribution Manager, said: “This award really is appreciated. A lot of our work goes on in the background, so to be recognised with something like this really means a lot to myself and the team.”

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 Gavin Boyle
• 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.

The team at Derby Private Health at Royal Derby Hospital has been recognised for the care and compassion they gave to patients throughout the initial peak of the pandemic with a Team UHDB Award.

The ward, which usually cares for patients for a range of surgical and medical procedures, supported the Trust’s response to Covid-19 by caring for more than 160 patients who required urgent treatment for cancer.

Many of the team were also redeployed to areas such as Intensive Care and respiratory wards to support teams there care for patients with Covid-19.

Teresa Purdy, Senior Sister, said: “It has been a really hard time for the team over the past few months, so this award will be a real boost for us all.

“We have cared for a lot of complex cancer cases and are now starting to take on more of our usual private work, and the team have just worked so hard and been amazing throughout.

“Well done to everyone.”

Executive Chief Operating Officer, Sharon Martin, presented the team with their well-deserved award, and praised the team for their dedication to providing exceptional care to patients:

“The work that you have all done has gone on in the background, but has been so important to helping our patients during this difficult time. I want to say, on behalf of myself and the Board, a massive thank you to you all.”

Derby Private Health is run in partnership with UHDB and reinvests all profits back into the Trust. Last year, the unit reinvested around £5 million to improve NHS care for everyone.

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 Gavin Boyle
• 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.

Four wards at Royal Derby Hospital that were converted into COVID-19 wards during the peak of the pandemic have this week been recognised with a Team UHDB Award for their dedication and compassion.

Our Medical Assessment Unit, Ward 305, Ward 206 and our Nightingale Macmillan Unit were all presented with their awards by Chief Executive, Gavin Boyle and Chief Nurse, Cathy Winfield.

All of the wards and departments went above and beyond to provide exceptional care to our patients and compassionate support to their colleagues throughout the whole pandemic.

Over the next few weeks, a number of awards are due to be presented to teams who played a key role in our response to COVID -19, so thank you to you all for your incredible hard work during this time.

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:

• Chief Executive Award – Chosen by Gavin Boyle
• 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

 

The fantastic lengths a Royal Derby Hospital Senior Sister went to in order to help and support a colleague and their relative have been recognised with a Making a Difference Award.

Rachel Kirby, Senior Sister on Ward 311, truly went above and beyond what was expected when her ward became a ward that cared for elderly Covid-19 patients at the start of the pandemic.

A colleague nominated Rachel for showing her compassion and support when her own sister was admitted on to the ward with Covid-19 on the first that their ward was turned into a ward caring for Covid-19 patients.

The nomination read: “I was working on the ward and my sister was admitted, this caused me a lot of upset and was very distressing for me.  

“Rachel’s leadership and caring attitude got me through this very stressful and challenging time. She helped me overcome new challenges and the fear the pandemic was bringing. She also gave me the strength to come back into work every day knowing she was there for reassurance.”

Rachel was presented with her award in front of her colleagues by Cathy Winfield, Chief Nurse, who made surprise visit to the ward to thank Rachel for her exceptional work.   

Rachel said: “I was only doing my job! This is so lovely, thank you.”

Colleagues have said that Rachel always goes above and beyond and is always supporting her staff in whichever way she can.

If you know a UHDB member of staff or team who should be recognised for their exceptional work, you can nominate them for a monthly Making a Difference Award by emailing uhdb.employeeawards@nhs.net