Examples of entries which were finalists in 2024
- Lisa Pollard and Shannon Hammami are both very passionate support workers, their work In Northumberland CYPS is so very much valued by the young people and their families but also the staff team. Lisa and Shannon took it upon themselves to invest their own time and creativity to make all five Northumberland bases children friendly. The results are amazing with compliments from families, professionals, staff team even our own chief executives. The time and effort researching information ensure both factual but taken the stigma out of mental health has had a huge impact, and can be heard daily as a talking point between young people and their families in the wait area. To do this for five bases with the detail they did from painting charters on glass, characterising room numbers, inviting young people during their appointments to be part of this has been such a positive for all who utilise the clinics daily.Children’s mental health day, occasions also are not missed by the pair, where they present ideas competitions, interactive tasks, and decorations to mark these occasions with no part of Northumberland missing out. Through raffles, domino cards and cake sale they raised £200 for children’s mental health charity.The girls do this on top of their daily jobs of supporting young people when they do not want to leave the house, when school is a scary place, when home is a difficult place both Lisa and Shannon will work with young people be it assessment or walking alongside the young person at their pace to engage in the scary. The feedback from families and professionals are amazing an example from another team member in a recent message is “ I am overwhelmed by how beautifully perfect your school observations are, and just had to let you know how thankful and appreciative I am of the good work that do” whilst another shared “ We cannot thank you enough for the time effort, thought and care you have put into the clinic areas is truly remarkable”
- Clare is a member of the admin team whose work in the outpatient department over a number of years has enabled clinicians to improve time spent on clinical care. She has ensured timely well organised appointments with a positive effect on patient care, was instrumental in the reorganisation of appointments during the Covid Pandemic and is essential to the efficient running of the department.Her work has significantly improved the efficiency of the service, enabling clinicians to work more effectively. She supports medical staff, nurses & AHP’s, enabling them to use their expertise and skills appropriately and focus on direct patient care.Her knowledge of the numerous different clinics provided at Walkergate Park (at least 12) & length of time required for the different appointments in differing clinics, as well as time for review & new appointments is excellent. Her skill in reorganising clinics when required is second to none. She ensures that patients are seen in the appropriate clinic for the appropriate length of time. This organisation was not evident prior to her appointment- she has reduced errors & enabled more efficient & effective working, thus improving patient experience.
In addition to her own excellent performance, she is now supporting other staff to develop their skills. She is always approachable and ensures any tasks are carried out in a timely way. She works effectively, efficiently, is flexible in her approach & remains cheerful. She is always reliable and supports other admin areas when required. Her impact in the clinics is remarked upon, recognised and appreciated by all clinicians & it would be really positive if this excellence, so evident in a member of the admin staff, could be recognised by these awards.
- This team contributes significantly to the Trust strategy across areas such as health and wellbeing, retention, workforce planning, organisational development, etc etc etc but I believe deserve a shout out for the work they do on health and wellbeing as it impacts on each and every member of staff. A couple of years ago the health and wellbeing “star” was developed depicting 6 areas of wellbeing: psychological, physical, career, financial, social and emotional. Over the past year they have continued to develop offers for staff around these key areas based on the feedback received through a number of means including the staff survey, quarterly staff survey, questionnaires, vivup portal and feedback from staff generally.There are a vast amount of offers/initiatives for staff which can be found on the Thrive website which the team developed in partnership with the comms team and the newly revitalised Health and Wellbeing Bulletin: setting up a partnership with Northumberland Community Bank, financial wellbeing sessions with Barclays, Pension and mid career advice, free wills, financial support lines, health and wellbeing checks for staff, menopause support line, commissioned bereavement counselling discounted gym membership, cycle to work schemes, career conversations, health and wellbeing conversations, many health campaigns such as Dry January, Mental Health Awareness Week, Skin Cancer Awareness week etc. They have also set up a menopause support group – again at the request of staff.We have received confirmation that we have achieved the Better Health at Work – continuing excellence award again this and the organisers gave a prestigious “ambassador” award in recognition of the vast health and wellbeing support offered to our staff.
The team have also set up a contract with vivup who provide salary sacrifice and salary deduction offers for our staff to purchase items online or on the high street.
Everything they do is to support our staff!
- I would like to nominate Mary Lavender, co-chair of the Disabled Staff Network and Specialist SALT as an unsung hero.Mary’s goal is to break down barriers and allow disabled people to thrive and be their authentic awesome selves. Mary gently educates that disability is not a dirty word and it isn’t taboo – it affects 1 in 4 of us and she works tirelessly to close the disability gap.As well as her work with children and assistive technology as a highly specialist speech and language therapist, Mary also has arranged many training sessions and campaigns on behalf of the Disabled Staff Network to not only raise awareness of disability, but to positively support change. She is a leader in her field and word is getting around about Mary and her passion to change hearts and minds. She was invited to London to attend the RCSLT (Speech and Language Therapy Awards) where she received a Giving Voice Award for recognition of her work.
Her work has also led to her being invited to speak at the House of Commons about Assistive Technology, she co-chaired the NHS Employers Disability Summit and gained a scholarship to the Assistive Technology Industry Association in America earlier this year.
Mary isn’t afraid to put herself out there and speaks candidly and positively about disability, both with her own voice and as part of the staff network to bring about real change. In her own words, she’s a “positive disruptor”. She is never afraid to put herself out there and you can see her smiling face as part of the Trust’s inclusive recruitment campaign. Not only is she talented in her chosen field but she never stops, both inside and outside of work, personally and professionally, to make a difference.
- I implore you to find a person working at Elm House who does not feel supported and well led by Barbara. She works flexibly, coming in at 6am to regularly supervise night staff. She has an infectious, positive attitude. She is a key stakeholder in implementing positive changes to practice at Elm House. Barbara is a role model for all banding of staff, attending staff/patient forums and engaging in activities with patients such as decorating the unit for festivities and planning and painting a window display. Barbara has worked at Elm House since its doors opened, she is the heart and soul of the place. Patients that reside with us who have previously been at Elm always remember Barbara fondly for her help and support throughout their stay. Barbara is the lead at Elm House for planning student placements, often being their first contact, providing them with a warm welcome in a nurturing environment. Barbara not only keeps track of staffs mandatory training, but encourages staff to attend additional training available to them for their own development. Barbara herself is not afraid to take on new training, new procedures and new ways of working. Despite her being such a prominent face on the floor of Elm House, she also maintains the audits and documentation for the unit. Linking the findings of audits to supervision to ensure maximum benefit from staff supervision. Barbara is able to deal with situations in a sensitive manner, all staff here find she has a listening ear and knows when to just listen, or offer advice and guidance. There are some fabulous nurses recently out of their preceptorship that have been moulded into the nurses they are today as a result of Barbara’s guidance and leadership. As a clinical lead myself, I see Barbara as a role model, as I hope to have her level of determination, positivity and motivation when I am at a similar point in my career.
- My comments are from what other colleagues have also said about Nicky and are not solely my opinion.Nicola Hamilton is ‘Unique’ as in my 27 years with the Trust I have yet to hear any colleagues whatsoever say they have been unfairly treated by Nicky. No one has ever said that Nicky has took a personal dislike to them. This, in the short and long term I feel improves patient care which is so evidently at the heart and mind of what Nicky does. If Nicky needs to reprimand staff then this is from a patient centred, service perspective and with respect to staff, done as a learning curve. This then serves to motivate.As manager of a potentially very stressful area of the service Nicky holds the team together with a low turnover of staff which is proof positive I believe of a sound manager.
If other managers are having a ‘bad day’ for whatever reason then some take this out on staff. Nicky does not, which is remarkable to witness really.
I also like the way Nicky ‘normalises’ patient and patient family’s difficulties wherever possible and ‘keeps it real’ for the staff team, as well as in the various cultural contexts, though equally and rightly pathologises when necessary.
Nicky is remarkably ‘balanced’ and ‘considered’ when describing other teams and clearly works for the CNTW service as a whole rather than solely for the PLT. Too often, in my experience managers’ sole priority is their own team without considering the service as a whole.
New staff comment on how welcoming Nicky is and that she continues to ask how they are doing, and not in a superficial way.
On a personal level I would like to add that when I had a period of long term sickness recently due to a truly horrible pain issue, Nicky together with the management team were so realistic and supportive. Without this support my mood would have dropped significantly and could’ve resulted in longer sickness.
Finally, staff go the extra mile for Nicky.
She is a General who leads from the Front.
- Since coming into post three years ago as Carer Peer support worker, Paddy has truly blazed a trail. Creating a service from the ground up and developing pathways for Carer support as it simply didn’t exist before. Paddy has rightfully progressed within his career pathway during his time here in South CTT and now holds the position of Carer Lead.Paddy is immensely passionate about ensuring Carer’s are recognised and supported and he has worked tirelessly to promote the voice of Carer’s who support loved ones within secondary care services as it was clear to him they had been overlooked.Paddy very quickly identified a significant unmet need upon coming into post and set out to address this. Developing a programme of support for Carer’s whilst working alongside the wider team, Paddy established links with partner agencies and has helped create a wider network of support for Carer’s in secondary care. Paddy worked alongside the Recovery College to develop the Veterans Boxing Group, taking part in this group himself to encourage the Veteran Carer’s he supports to find the courage to participate.
Paddy is a staunch advocate for Carer’s and promotes their voice at every opportunity, his creative and innovative approach came to the attention of NHS England who have spread the word amongst other NHS Trusts ,some of whom have now approached Paddy asking for advice/support to set up their own services.
Paddy is one individual working across two very large Community Treatment teams, he always has a waiting list now that the wider Teams really recognise the importance of identifying and supporting Carer’s. Feedback from Carer’s whom Paddy has supported is overwhelming positive and it is really evident that Paddy truly does make a very real difference to people’s lives every single day.
We are immensely proud of Paddy here in South CTT, his compassion, dedication and fabulous sense of humour are just a few of his many qualities. Thank you Paddy.