STAR award winners - 2021

Congratulations to Julie Hudson, who was nominated by a patients relative for a star award!

Julie went above and beyond when dealing with some enquiries of the patients relative and they were extremely grateful!

She was nominated by a patient's relative, who said: "I would like to thank Julie Hudson, PA to the Children Teams Director, for the exceptional service I received. I e-mailed late one evening for advice regarding my grandchild. My daughter had taken her to A&E 3 weeks earlier and had had an appointment with the children team a week earlier, but she was getting worse day by day. Julie went far further than I could have ever imagined. She responded at 5.39am to my e-mail and by 9.30am I had received 2 further e-mails informing me of what they would do and what we could do in the meantime. Her e-mails were both caring and respectful in tone. My granddaughter was admitted that day and had to stay overnight and I’m happy to say she is now back home and on the road to recovery.

A massive thanks to Mr Gupta and his colleagues but especially to Julie; I was extremely grateful for her courtesy and total professionalism and in these difficult times it goes a long way to say thank you and she deserves to be recognised for her fantastic service."

Congratulations to Alison Kinnaird, who have been presented with a STAR award by Ian O'Connor, Chief Finance Officer.  Alison was nominated by a patients mother who said "My daughter Lilly is under the care of Dr Khan from the paediatric team. Although I think he is an amazing consultant and he is an asset to your hospital, my email today is regarding Alison Kinnaird, Dr Khan’s secretary.
 
I have spoken to Alison on the phone and by email and her professionalism, helpfulness and genuine concern for your question; assistance or advice is truly remarkable.
 
During the current pandemic I was struggling with my daughter’s medication and in desperation I emailed Alison in the hope she could ask Dr Khan’s advice. Not only did she act on my email, Dr Khan rang me the same day to offer me assistance with Lilly which I am truly grateful for.
 
I feel so reassured that I can contact her if I need to regarding Lilly and she will help to the best of her ability. I hope you can pass on my comments to her and thank her that she goes above and beyond her job role."

Congratulations to the Physiotherapy Respiratory On Call Team who have been presented with a STAR Award. The team were nominated by Stuart Waterman who said "I would like to nominate the Physiotherapy Respiratory on call team for a Star Award. This encompasses approximately 17 staff.

The service provides the Trust with a Respiratory physio 24 hours per day 365 days a year. Clearly we are on site during the day, but in the evenings and overnight, staff have to be within 30 minutes of the Trust site to provide acute response when called upon.

The reason for this nomination is to recognise a specific case where the staff helped provide care and treatment.

Recently a young patient developed aspiration pneumonia. From that first date until her discharge, the on call physiotherapy service provided treatment to the patient not only in the evenings but also overnight for 16 consecutive nights.

Physiotherapy was her main treatment and is very much responsible for supporting her recovery. Early on there were signs that she may have needed to be transferred to the Evelina because of her clinical picture, however this did not happen and her treatment was all carried out at DVH

I would like the dedication of the Physiotherapy staff to be recognised."

The team were presented with their award by Siobhan Callanan, Chief Nurse.

Congratulations to Beech Ward, winners of STAR award after being nominated by Sarah Parson who said "I recently returned to Beech Ward for 6 weeks to offer some senior support in the absence of their Ward Manager. I was previously there for 2 months working clinically during the height of the COVID Pandemic. What a great team!

From the Band 6’s working together to cover the Ward Manager’s role; the band 5’s stepping up to take charge of the day to day operation of the ward to the Nursing Assistants standing in for the Ward Clerk and supporting the wonderful domestic to keep the ward clean. They welcomed me and made me feel part of their team, taking on board my suggestions and continuing to try and maintain standards under very difficult circumstances.

I would like to nominate them for their dedication and commitment and for challenging themselves to work above and beyond their own roles."

Beech staff were presented with their award by Siobhan Callanan, Chief Nurse.

Congratulations Sam Wright and Sami-Jo Henderson who are winner of a STAR Award. ⭐ Sam and Sami-Jo were nominated by Sandra Gilliard who said "The Training Team is currently short-staffed and Sam and Sami-Jo have managed the IT Training for a large number of doctors in the Junior Doctor Inductions with very little support – last year there were 4 trainers plus Sami-Jo, this year it was just Sam and Sami-Jo (with occasional guidance/interference from me!)

Sam is part-time and has juggled her hours to accommodate the training. Sami-Jo is full-time but also trained a member of the night staff prior to the rotation training so was in at 06:30 some mornings and sending emails at 05:30 to keep up with admin.

Both Sam and Sami-Jo continue smiling through various challenges – one was a key system refusing to let doctors register themselves (which IT later explained was thanks to a national NHS.Net issue). Undaunted, they continued, made alternative arrangements and held it all together.

I’m very proud of them both and grateful for their flexibility, attitude and hard work."

Their awards were presented by Alexandra Bode-Tunji, Chief People Officer.

Congratulations to Tracey Biggs and Jodie Burgess who have been awarded a STAR award after being nominated by Tina Fairhead from our Paediatric ED. Tina said "During these highly pressured and daunting times, I would like to say a massive thank you to the mortuary team. They have faced an increase in the number of patient’s they care for and whilst this has no doubt been demanding upon them physically and mentally they continue to provide support and care not just to us within the Trust but also to the families who have lost loved ones.

I was asked to accompany a new Paediatric Consultant to the trust, to the mortuary to examine a young lady who had sadly committed suicide. These ladies were extremely compassionate towards the patient, using caring words whilst explaining what we were doing for her. They showed this deceased young lady such dignity in death.

Tracey and Jodie have been instrumental in presenting on the Sudden Unexpected Death in Childhood day we run at the trust. They have allowed us to visit the mortuary as part of the study and have made death a lot less scary for us all.

These ladies have supported us in providing parents with correct information on the death of their child and preparing them for visiting the mortuary.

I am sure that what I have discussed here is just a small portion of the work they do, but I would like them to receive the recognition they whole heartedly deserve and the acknowledgement that they are an integral part of the DVH family.

They were presented with their certificates by Julie Frake-Harris, Chief Operating Officer.

Congratulations to Revd Tony Green who has been awarded a STAR award after being nominated by Jessica Martin. Jessica said "Tony has been both a professional and personal support throughout my 3 years of being a student nurse within the trust. Despite not being religious myself, Tony is always available for a chat, and he has been so supportive!

He is clearly so passionate about his job, and cares so much about the wellbeing of both the patients and his colleagues. Throughout these recent challenging times, Tony has continued to work tirelessly to ensure he is available to both the patients and staff members.

His support and kindness has been invaluable; he is truly a credit to the Trust. Thank you so much Tony!"

Revd Green was presented with his award by Ian O'Connor, Chief Finance Officer.

Congratulations to our Hospital at Home Team who have been awarded a STAR award. The team were nominated by Sue Symmons who said "You know what? The hospital at home team have so done me proud with what they’ve been faced with. With Coronavirus, everything gets escalated with more phone calls than ever before and more referrals than ever before, more visits than ever before, absolutely everything is escalated.

The team have worked their socks off and I couldn’t have asked for more. They have achieved so much, really dug deep and put in the effort where and while its required.

When I look back to what was being escalated 12 months ago it is clear to me that the team have prioritised through staff sickness, managing on slim resources quietly and conscientiously always putting our patients first and I cannot let that commitment go unnoticed.

So I am proud to nominate the Hospital at Home Team for this well- deserved award with my thanks and appreciation for all the work they do." 

The award was presented by Siobhan Callanan, Chief Nurse.

Well done Sharon Saunders who has been awarded a STAR award. Sharon was nominated by Mr Karan Sampat who said "Following a Caesarean section women can be at increased risk of wound infections. Sharon observed practice from another trust, and brought back the idea of using ‘Honeycomb’ dressings. Following their introduction in July 2019, it became evident that the trend, in terms of wound infections, showed a decrease. This innovative idea has reduce the risk of women, who have recently delivered a baby, being readmitted into hospital."

Sharon was presented with her award by Siobhan Callanan, Chief Nurse.

Well done Charley Reynolds who has been awarded a STAR Award. Charley was nominated by a patient who said "The nurse in question is Charley Reynolds; the reason for this is because I feel that she has gone above and beyond of what is expected of her. In April I contracted COVID-19 and I deteriorated very quickly and I ended up on Laurel Ward. I remember that day very well I was struggling to breathe and I can remember an ICI Dr and Nurse coming to see me saying that I was going to be placed in an induced coma. Charley was sitting by my bedside holding my hand as I was on the phone to my wife saying goodbye as I thought I may never see her again. I can remember Charley saying that I will be fine and that I have a long and happy life to live. During the procedure of putting me to sleep she stayed by my bedside.

Once I woke I moved from ICU back to Laurel Ward. On my first full day on the ward, Charley walked in to begin work and seeing me again came rushing over and sat in the chair next to me and I just talked with her for about an hour. I felt she became my personal nurse as she always made the time to talk to me and she was there to comfort me when I became emotional as I was longing to go home.

On my last day on the ward it was about 15:00hrs and she came to me sat down on the chair and said to me “I think you need to call your family”, I asked why and she replied because you’re going home! I cried and she began to cry with me, she walked me out of the hospital to where my wife was waiting. When we were reunited I turned round to say thank you and Charley was by my side crying and clapping.

I feel that Charley made my harrowing journey that bit more bearable.

Charley was present with her certificate by Basirat Sadiq, Director of Improvement

Congratulation Kelly Nightingale who has been selected for a STAR Award. Kelly was nominated by Melissa Thomas who said "Kelly always goes above and beyond for every single patient she books a rapid access appointment for.

She is very compassionate and empathetic; she puts the patient first always, she draws from her own experiences to help with problems and to advise patients if needed. She is always coming up with new ideas to help with the service and always puts extra into her role. She holds a key role in the rapid access group as the only full time member of staff. She is a much loved colleague and brings a smile into the office every day.

During the first wave of COVID, she was the only rapid access officer working in the office, she dealt with everything in her stride and made sure all appointments were booked and queries were answered. She would not leave the office until everything was taken care of". 

Kelly was presented with her certificate by Alexandra Bode-Tunji, Chief People Officer. 

 Congratulation Dan Babos who has been selected for a STAR Award. Dan was nominated by Julie Frake-Harris and Kate Holmes.

They said "We would like to nominate Dan, ED Matron, for an award in recognition for his constant, consistent and continuous hard work, dedication and how he is valued by patients and staff alike. You could say that Dan is just doing his job but what makes a difference is the way he does it and the way he is prepared to go over and above to get his patients cared for and any work done in a compassionate helpful and supportive way. He shows compassion for others and his commitment and ‘can do’ attitude is amazing. This shows how Dan represents the Trust’s values and behaviours: he strive for excellence in whatever he does, seeing tasks through.

Whenever we have worked with Dan he is consistently a brilliant team player who makes a difference, noticing when the team needs a boost and he will act on it with enthusiasm. Some examples, but not limited, of what Dan has done over and above his role as a Matron:

Working hands-on on the ward when he is the Matron on-call managing multiple tactical activities
Wheeled patients from the ward when they were needed in x-ray and all the porters were busy on other jobs
Moved patient tables and lockers to facilitate the opening of plus one low acuity beds in order to increase capacity"

Dan was presented with his certificate by Julie Frake-Harris, Chief Operating Officer.