“And the winners are…” Staff receive long-awaited awards

Tuesday 30 November marked a special event in The Royal Orthopaedic Hospital NHS Foundation Trust’s (ROH) calendar – the annual Leading Lights Staff Awards.

The ceremony, which saw staff come together to celebrate each other’s achievements in what has been the toughest period the NHS has ever experienced, had been due to take place in February but was unfortunately postponed twice due to the pandemic.

The shortlist for the Trust’s annual prize-giving ceremony this year had over 60 teams and individuals in the running, which was a record amount.

The Leading Lights Staff Awards is an annual celebration of the best the ROH has to offer. Staff and volunteers can be nominated by colleagues, patients or members of the public in a variety of categories. The longlist is then whittled down by a panel of judges from across the Trust, resulting in a shortlist.
Everyone who receives a nomination is informed via a letter of congratulations, thanking them for their contribution to the Trust. The lucky shortlisted staff were then sent an invite to the ceremony (along with a box of sweeties!)

Red carpet reszied

This year’s ceremony was on a smaller scale than previous years and took place internally in The Knowledge Hub, the home of education and research at ROH, but was no less special. The venue was kitted out with balloons, a red carpet and goodies for staff (a special thank you to Letters 2 Love, in Redditch, who generously supplied the event with light-up letters).

Presentation resized

The event kicked off with a speech from its hosts, Chief Executive Jo Williams and Chair Tim Pile before the proceedings moved swiftly on to the prize-giving. 27 awards were given out this year: Clinical Team Achievement and Non-Clinical Team Achievement, Nurse of the Year, Doctor/Medic/Clinician of the Year, Clinical Support Worker of the Year, AHP/Pharmacist/Healthcare Scientist of the Year, Corporate Services Employee of the Year, Secretarial/Administration Support of the Year, Support Service Employee of the Year, Apprentice/Learner of the Year, Volunteer of the Year, Outstanding Contribution to Patient Experience, Innovation and Continuous Improvement, Leadership Achievement of the Year, Fundraiser of the Year and the Chair and Governors Award for Engagement. There were awards for each of the Trust’s values (respect, compassion, excellence, pride, openness and innovation) and six special awards for contributions to patients, people, partnership, process and performance.

Highlights included Dr Martin Goodman picking up Clinician of the Year. He was described as “hard working, compassionate, empathetic and a mentor to all,” and that he “reflects what true holistic care means.”

Trainee Nurse Associate, Charlie Seal, won the award for Outstanding Contribution to Patient Experience, nominated by a patient of hers, who said: “Charlie exemplifies the compassion and excellence awards like these are all about.
“It is not an exaggeration to say that she utterly turned around my experience when I was beginning to lose hope, and I cannot find the words to thank her enough.”

The ceremony ended with the award for Clinical Team Achievement of the Year which deservedly went to Wards 10 and 12, which were designated as wards for COVID-19 patients during the worst of the pandemic. Their nomination called them “a truly exceptional team” who put the “care and welfare of patients first before their own fears.”

The hospital’s Infection Prevention and Control Team, who were also nominated, were given the People award in recognition of the immense support they provided during the pandemic, investigation and advising on outbreaks of the virus and constantly creating and revising ever-changing policies.

The winners were:
Nurse of the Year – Lisa Newton
Compassion Award – Chloe Butler and Lesley Brash
Doctor / Clinician of the Year – Dr Martin Goodman
Process Award – Professor Edward Davis
Support Services Employee of the Year – Jenny Buckley
Respect Award – Phil Goold & Gordon Carpenter
AHP / Pharmacist / Healthcare scientist of the year – John Bloomfield
Pride Award – Sharon Masters
Performance Award – Pharmacy
Clinical Support Worker of the Year – Lynne Sadler
Non-Clinical Team of the Year – Facilities
Excellence Award – Ops Team and Pre-Operative Assessment Clinic (POAC)
Outstanding Contribution to Patient Experience – Charlie Seal
Patient Award – COVID-19 Swabbing Team
Chair and Governors' Award – Mr Mike Parry
Corporate Services Employee of the Year – Julie Gardner
Openness Award – Yasmin Brown
Leadership Achievement Award – Luan Suckling
Volunteer of the Year award – OPD Welcome team
Innovation and Continuous Improvement Award – Alicia Stanton
Secretarial / Administrator of the Year – Jenny Woollaston
Apprentice / Student of the year – Management Skills Programme
Fundraiser of the Year – Olivia O’Connell
Clinical Team of the Year – Wards 10 and 12
Partnership Award – Anaesthetics
People Award – Infection Prevention and Control Team.

You can see photos of some of the winners below.

Alicia Stanton Innovation and Continous Improvement Award resized
Continuous Improvement Award - Alicia Stanton

Mike Parry Chair and Governors Award resized
Chair and Governors' Award - Mr Mike Parry

Facilities Non Clinical Team of the Year resized
Non-Clinical Team of the Year - Facilities/Evening Theatre/Blitz Teams

Jenny Buckley Support Services Employee of the Year resized
Support Services Employee of the Year - Jenny Buckley

Jenny Woollaston Administrator of the Year resized Administrator of the Year - Jenny Woollaston