Making a Difference - Award Winners

A paediatric nurse at Royal Derby Hospital has been recognised for going above and beyond to care for a sick 11 month old and has received the Excellent Employee award for her efforts.

William, patient, was in hospital for six weeks with pneumococcal meningitis under the care of Sonya Beck on the Dolphin Ward.

The nomination, sent in by William’s parents, read: “It is every parent’s worst nightmare to have their child fall seriously ill, and this is something Sonya understood instantly.

“Sonya would support us on a constant basis, walking us through each step of the journey such as providing information and advice.

“With the challenges of the pandemic, we could only have one parent on site at the hospital at a time, which of course made it particularly tough.

“However, Sonya did so many things which probably meant nothing to her but meant the world to us. She made us smile with her constant jokes and anecdotes about her family, particularly what her children get up to.

“She would cuddle William whilst we’d nip off to the toilet and to make a hot drink; she played with William when he was well enough, and would sing him songs.

“She even organised us a little party with the sensory machine, music, cards and presents for William’s first birthday.

Due to complications with William’s IV lines, the family spent an increasing amount of home leave in the ward.

The nomination continued: “Everything that Sonya did, she did with care. It made our time at the hospital more manageable.

“William has gone on to make a full recovery but we’re only just processing and coming to terms with what we’ve been through this year.

“Sonya stood out as the star that she is and we would love for her to be recognised for the contribution she makes to parents and childrens’ lives every day.”

Kathy McLean, Chair at UHDB, wanted to present Sonya with her award in person to thank her for her effortless care and warmth to this family who were in need of support during such a difficult time.

She said: “It was a lovely nomination to read, especially given the circumstances of covid too making it even harder for the family."

The award presentation was a complete surprise to Sonya and brought her to tears, she said: “I can’t believe it!

“Everything I do is for those patients and their families to make things that little bit easier for them.”

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.

A Senior Sister at Samuel Johnson Community Hospital has been recognised for providing outstanding support and care to her colleague with a Monthly Making a Difference Award.

Tina Luke, Senior Sister on Anna Ward, went above and beyond to provide support for her colleague, Mandy, whose family had been adversely affected by Covid-19 despite going through hardships during the pandemic herself.

The nomination read: “Tina has helped me on a personal level and has been considerate and caring when working on the ward has presented its challenges.

“Tina has supported me and taken time to listen to me. She makes a difference on a daily basis and inspires all of us on Anna Ward to carry on even when times are hard.”

Upon receiving the Excellent Employee award, Tina said: “As a manager, I would do this for anyone in my team, but it was so lovely for Mandy to nominate and to receive this award, so thank you very much.”

Duncan Bedford, Executive Managing Director at UHDB, presented Tina with her award and praised her kindness and compassion towards her colleagues: “I’m delighted to present Tina with this award. What she has done for Mandy is exceptional and she has gone above and beyond, showing true compassion to her colleague. This award is thoroughly deserved, well done Tina.”

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.

An “outstanding” Queen’s Hospital Burton receptionist who really stepped up and took responsibility when her team needed her most has been lauded by her colleagues.

Angela Bailey had to run the antenatal clinic reception desk on her own during a particularly busy day earlier this autumn, as an unlucky mix of staff sickness and annual leave left her team short of numbers.

Despite being under immense pressure throughout the day though, Angela continued to showcase the compassion and kindness that she is renowned for to every patient and colleague that she came across during her shift.

The huge contribution she makes to the antenatal clinic hasn’t gone unnoticed, with senior sister Annette Haynes making the decision to nominate Angela for a Making a Difference Award, following her actions on that busy October day.  

Annette wrote: “We have had a really challenging few months with staff shortages due to sickness, and on 8 October, we were down to just one receptionist – Angela Bailey. She pushed her boundaries and challenged herself to take on the huge responsibility of running the Burton site antenatal clinic reception on her own, as all her other colleagues were off work due to sickness and annual leave.

“The whole day, she welcomed patients and showed kindness to both patients and her peers in the antenatal clinic, despite being under considerable pressure. Angela is an outstanding receptionist and is one of our colleagues who has soldiered on throughout the Covid-19 pandemic – always smiling and always really compassionate with our patients.”

Angela was selected as the latest winner of UHDB’s Excellent Employee, in recognition of all her good work, with Duncan Bedford, Executive Managing Director at Burton, surprising the receptionist with her award in front of her delighted colleagues.

“Thank you very much,” said Angela, “this is a complete surprise! It’s never just down to one person though, it’s the whole team. We all do the same to try and keep the service running smoothly. Sometimes, we can be left on our own because of various circumstances, but I do what I can, although it’s the whole group of us that keeps the boat afloat.”

Duncan said: “I’m really pleased to be able to stand in front of you today to say a massive thanks. Your colleagues have all recognised what a fantastic job you do. We know that there’s been some challenges and difficulties in trying to keep the ship afloat, and I understand that on one particular day, you were here on your own, trying to man the fort. Presenting these awards is the best part of my job, so I’m really proud to be able to award you with this.”

Annette added: “Every so often, really amazing work needs to be recognised, and that’s what this is all about. I couldn’t have done this without you, Angela, so thank you so much for all you’ve done!”

A Trainee Nursing Associate who helped a patient at the end of life write an emotional letter to her children has been presented with a Monthly Making a Difference Award.

Plaxedes Chikoore was awarded with October’s Patient Hero Award for supporting a young lady to write the letter which she requested to be given to her young children once she had passed away.

A colleague who nominated Plaxedes for the award wrote: “This was very emotional and Plaxedes dealt with the situation with immense compassion, professionalism and commitment, delivering exceptional care under such difficult circumstances.”

Chief People Officer, Amanda Rawlings, presented Plaxedes with her award on Ward 404 at Royal Derby Hospital and said: “It is an absolute pleasure to be here and to present you with this award. You all do amazing things every day but to hear that you have done that at this early stage in your career just shows what you’re going to go on to do in the future.

“Well done and thank you for everything you’re doing.”

On receiving her award, Plaxedes said: “There are no words, I’ve got tears in my eyes! Thank you.”

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 dedicated team on Royal Derby Hospital’s Ward 216 has been recognised for their unwavering support to their colleagues throughout the pandemic as they were presented with a monthly Making a Difference Award.

The team were crown ‘Team UHDB’ for October for their flexibility in changing the speciality of patients they cared for several times during the Trust’s response to the pandemic, all while continuing to hit their targets for discharging patients home or to their next place of care.

Ward 216 is usually a short stay ward, where patients are only required to be admitted for a few days, but during the pandemic, the team has taken care of neurology, cardiology, elderly, gastroenterology and diabetic patients to help keep the flow of patients through the hospital going.

On presenting them with their award, Chief Executive Gavin Boyle said: “I have almost lost track of how many times you have changed speciality in recent times, and I know this must have been very stressful for you all as a team as you worked outside of your comfort zone.

“At a time when we needed everyone in Team UHDB to be as flexible as possible, you epitomised that, so well done to you all and thank you for everything you have done for our patients and the Trust.”

Senior Charge Nurse, Jack O’Connor, said it has been a tough 18 months for the team, some of whom have also had Covid-19 themselves, and that he is extremely proud of them all:

“It has been a difficult time for the team and we’ve tried to develop and do our best to help the organisation. We have changed the way we work a lot and I’m so proud of the team.

“It really is a lovely team who work so hard and support each other and are a real credit to the Trust.”

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.