Annual Making a Difference Awards 2024 recognises those driving forward improvements at UHDB
On Friday 20 September, UHDB held its Annual Making a Difference Awards ceremony at Hilton St George's Park with 280 colleagues from UHDB joining in an evening of recognising achievements from across the Trust.
The ceremony, hosted by actor, singer and weather presenter Des Coleman, saw nominees for 10 awards come together to celebrate clinical and non-clinical members of staff from across a variety of our sites, who have driven improvements in quality, patient care and supported UHDB to be a great place to work.
After an unprecedented 1,750 nominations showcasing UHDB values of excellence, compassion and openness in abundance, the judges had a challenge choosing a shortlist from the high-quality submissions.
One of the winners on the night was the Sip Til Send team, for their implementation of updated fasting guidance >.The team worked innovatively to make sure it was safely implemented in the right departments and services and as a result improved patient experience and care, while supporting better clinical outcomes.
Previously, patients undergoing procedures that require anaesthesia or sedation were not able to drink water for a number of hours before their procedure. Under the new guidance, patients can have small amounts of water up until their procedure, improving patient experience and outcomes including better hydration, reduced anxiety, improved recovery times and side effects of sedation.
Other winners included Sarah Johnson, Lead Colorectal Clinical Nurse Specialist, who took home the Derby and Burton Hospitals Charity Living our Values Award. Sarah, who works at Queen's Hospital Burton, was recognised for her role in establishing a new colorectal pathway and implementing it in her department. This innovative work has been lifechanging for patients, allowing them to be triaged within 48 hours of referral and their subsequent investigations or appointments arranged within two weeks of establishing a diagnosis of cancer or non-cancer, helping to alleviate anxiety and get a plan of treatment for patients during what is a worrying time.
The Derbyshire Community Team won the Enhancing UHDB Award for their unwavering dedication to improvement and their work to reduce waiting times for Ears, Nose and Throat (ENT) outpatients by making better use of clinic space, capacity and resources at Ilkeston Community Hospital, through strong cross-team working and leadership.
Since February 2024, the teams have supported 50 all-day weekend clinics for ENT outpatients with around 1,200 people seen, which has helped improve the patient experience, offer more timely appointments and make efficient use of resources and facilities.
The prestigious Chair’s Team of the Year 2024 was awarded to the Head and Neck MDT team which operates trustwide, for their excellent multi-disciplinary working, outstanding 62-day time to treatment performance and innovative approaches to surgery, which is supporting best outcomes for patients who often present with aggressive disease.
The team actively recruit patients into 12 clinical trials through the Oncology team and have developed an innovative process for seeing more tonsillectomy patients.
The winners were chosen by a judging panel consisting of members of our Executive team, senior leaders and governors.
The full list of winners from our Annual Making a Difference Annual Awards are:
Living our Values Award, sponsored by Derby & Burton Hospitals Charity:
- Sarah Johnson, Queen's Hospital Burton
Patient Hero Award:
- Ward 2, Florence Nightingale Community Hospital and Ward 303, Royal Derby Hospital
Behind the Scenes Hero Award:
- Capital Projects team, Florence Nightingale Community Hospital
Enhancing UHDB Award (sponsored by D-Hive):
- Derbyshire Community team, Ilkeston Community Hospital
Improving Patient Safety Award:
- Sip Til Send team, Trustwide
Education and Learning Award:
- Laura Chapman, Royal Derby Hospital
Quality Improvement Award:
- Project 76 team, Trustwide
Future UHDB Award:
- Diabetes Research team, Florence Nightingale Community Hospital
Leader of the Year Award:
- Catherine Johnson, Royal Derby Hospital
Chair's Team of the Year Award:
- Head and neck MDT, Trustwide
You can see all the shortlisted individuals and teams here >
Thank you to the sponsors for this year’s Making a Difference Awards: Derby & Burton Hospitals Charity, D-Hive and LG Davis.