It's been a heroic year at North Bristol NHS Trust, so much so that we needed an extra ceremony to fit everyone in!
Today we celebrated our final group of NBT Heroes for 2019.
Staff were nominated by their colleagues for going over and above their job role in providing care and support for the patients and/or staff they work with. At the Hero Tea sponsored by Southmead Hospital Charity, those who could make it were given their certificates, a copy of their original nomination, coffee and cake.
Standing in for Andrea Young, NBT's Director of Estates, Facilities and Capital planning Simon Wood greeted staff with a warm welcome. The winners then got to hear what their colleagues had said about them in their nominations.
Read the full nominations for all of December's winners below.
Read about the rest of 2019's winners here:
Jane Godden - Receptionist, ICU
(nominated by Luke Gibbons, Perform Coach)
Jane continues to go above and beyond the role of a receptionist by ensuring the resources are in place to allow medical staff to deliver patient care with ease. Jane manages to easily find paperwork and documents, allowing staff to be more patient focussed, and is always on hand to answer any questions. Nothing is too much bother for her. She is great with families, recognising when individuals are struggling with emotions and is always very supportive, providing tea/ coffee in times of reassurance and support. More often than not, whilst juggling receptionist duties and calling the nursing staff for updates for visiting families. She also goes out of her way to ensure all members feel welcomed and part of the team, for example on the 16th Oct, it was 'Thank your Cleaner Day' and she got every member of the ICU team to sign a big card with their thanks and had it publicised on the wall. She also organises Birthday's and Christmas every year for the ICU team. I am from the Perform team, and have been currently working alongside ICU for a number of weeks and Jane is my 'Go to' if I need to know anything related to Admin, Forms, Questionnaires, Friends and Family. She is also very handy with Lorenzo and Flow, again going above the responsibility of Receptionist but always for the benefit of patients and ensuring staff are well supported. She is a true team player, but goes willingly unnoticed and quietly gets on with it.
Gabor Csorba - Ward Operative Supervisor
(nominated by Starn Chan, Ward Operative Manager)
Ever since I first started working with Gabor, he has proven himself to be a great leader and sets a great example in the department. He is one of those people you can always count on to do what's right for the service, department and the patients that we serve. Gabor finds proactive solutions to problems and although not all his ideas come to fruition, he never lets that get him down and moves on to pursuing new ideas and projects to make the service more efficient. He also goes the extra mile to ensure that everyone is treated fairly and supports the staff and his colleagues. I cannot put into words how much of an asset Gabor is for the trust, the Catering Team, and myself. Keep up the great work you do Gabor! You massively deserve this award in recognition of all the contributions you make on a daily basis!
Brenda Slade - Laboratory Admin Assistant, Genetics
(nominated by Raindeep Sohi, Genetics System Support Officer)
Brenda is one of our admin team members, and she is a real gem. She is always very helpful, big smile and willing to support where she can. Brenda is a real star in the Genetics department. Brenda deals with invoicing and office admin tasks which require great concentration, especially when the office is busy with many people. I would like to nominate Brenda for all the hard work she does in the department and especially for her caring nature and desire to help as many team members as she can. Everyone here in Genetics appreciates her knowledge and expertise about invoicing, which she gained from a background in banking. I wish Brenda all the best, hoping she will be recognised for everything she does for us, and see that her hard work really pays off.
Lucy Moore - Healthcare Assistant, Neurosurgery
(nominated by Sarah Steel, Specialist Clinical Pharmacist)
This lady always - 100% of the time - goes above and beyond her role as a healthcare assistant, to care for patients and goes the extra mile to ensure they feel more comfortable. Many of our patients in Neurosurgery have severe brain injuries, and their behaviour and/or illness can be very hard to manage. Lucy always manages to rises to the challenge, and does so with compassion and a cool head. She is always so calm and has such a calming influence on the patients, as well as the staff who work with her. This is really appreciated, as it is such a busy and sometimes stressful ward. Thank you Lucy, you’re a hero!
Elizabeth Hawkes - Administrator, Integrated Discharge Service
(nominated by Case Management Team)
We would like to nominate Liz for a NBT Hero award. Liz has worked for the trust for 23 years, supporting the Operations division and more latterly the IDS team. Liz has a wealth of knowledge and experience which she uses to support the whole of the IDS team and ward staff. Liz provides an invaluable service ensuring patients at the end of their life are referred in a timely way to support their discharge from hospital. She provides the "hospital face" for community services, specifically Continuing Healthcare, and is always smiling and friendly despite her busy role. Her laugh is infectious and her stories are second to none. She keeps our spirits up. Despite being office based, she is so compassionate and genuinely concerned about the patients she has dealings with (through the many referrals she manages). Liz is thorough and professional in everything she does. Sadly for us, but great for her, Liz has informed us that she is retiring in October. We would like her to know how much we appreciate her and to recognise the impact she has had whilst at NBT. She really deserves to be a NBT Hero!
Jaine Holden - Ward Sister, 28B
(nominated by Marc Evans, Discharge Case Manager)
I would like to nominate Sister Holden for an NBT Hero Award. Jaine is an ever present figure on 28B, ensuring that she is always visible to staff and visitors. Jaine appears very supportive of her colleagues and is keen to ensure quick, effective and safe discharges of patients to allow them to recover in a more appropriate environment. Jaine never shies away from a problem and faces it head on. Jaine is very good at making challenging decisions if it is likely to cause an issue further down the road. All-in-all Jaine runs a very tight ship on 28B and clearly demonstrates her managerial and leadership skills on a daily basis. She is thoroughly deserving of this award.
Sarah Stone - Pharmacist I am nominating Sarah, a newly qualified pharmacist, as an NBT Hero. She has become a core member of the ward team, always working with the patients’ best interest at heart. She is an advocate for the patient and challenges all levels of clinicians when necessary. She needs to be recognised for her dedication and hard work in ensuring that patients get the best possible outcomes from their care. She takes breaks with the ward team and has got to know us all very well. We will really miss her when she rotates to a different area.
Josey Smith - Receptionist, 8B
(nominated by Sophie Ward - HCA, 8B and Meg Thomas - Staff Nurse, 8B)
Sophie: I would like to nominate Josey as a hero because I feel she helps to keep our Ward running. She has been extremely busy recently but still has a smile on her face, a joke to crack, a hug to give. She really does keep our staff on 8B going and without her our ward would likely crumble! Thank you so much Josey for brightening up everyone’s day!
Meg: I am nominating Josey for an NBT Hero award as she is here ALL the time, showing total dedication to her job. She has had a tough time in her personal life but she is still always smiling, joking and making the ward a better place. She is always making everyone laugh. She brightens up our day. We wouldn’t be the ward we are today without her. She always makes an effort to do things for the team, like arranging days out. Thank you Josey we all love you.
Ana Toader - Housekeeper, Mendip Birth Centre
(nominated by Julie Wormwell, Midwife on Mendip Birth Centre)
Ana is a housekeeper on Mendip and the Delivery Suite who has helped us out in Foetal Medicine in ANC to connect with some of the patients for who English is not their first language. There are often difficult situations and prognoses to convey, but Ana’s calming nature really helps to relax patients. She has gone above and beyond the call of duty and her approach is sensitive and caring towards the women in the birth centre. We as a team cannot thank her enough and would like to nominate her as an NBT Hero.
Omar Bah - Team Leader, Domestics (nominated by Michelle Garland, FM Duty Manager) I would like to nominate Omar for his ongoing support and commitment he has shown over the years in supporting the domestic staff on their mandatory training courses via MLE. Omar will sit with the staff member individually and give his whole attention in a calm and professional manner, talking them through the slides and asking them questions making sure they understand the subjects to then be ready to do the tests and are compliant again. Omar has contributed enormously in getting the training statistics up for the Facilities Directorate and this nomination is well over due for his constant commitment he gives to the domestic staff. Thank you Omar you are a star.
Alison Jones - Ward Manager, 34A
(nominated by Gemma Quijote, Staff Nurse on 34A)
Alison is the Ward Manager on 34A and I believe she deserves to be given this award for many reasons. She is a very supportive ward manager, who looks after her staff, and is always available to lend a hand. She has been protective of her staff welfare ensuring fair workload. She is a good leader. She listens to staff individual needs, and conveys her appreciation for individuals and team efforts. One time I was really busy, and Alison took the time out of her schedule to do my patient's dressing for me so I could balance my workload. I strongly believe that she deserves this humble recognition. I am sure that all the staff on 34A will agree with me that WE ARE SO PROUD OF HER. Thank you so much, I am looking forward to seeing you get the recognition you deserve.
Karen Highway - Clinical Nurse Specialist, Burns
(nominated by Amanda Dufley, Physiotherapist)
Karen always goes that extra mile, whether for the patient or the team. She always puts the wellbeing of the team and her patients at the very top of her priority list, working incredibly hard sometimes in her own time. Not only does she always strive for exceptional care for our patients she goes the extra mile to ensure their families are well looked after, whether helping to find them accommodation locally to stay in, recognising if they are having additional financial stress from travelling, and linking them up with appropriate burns charities to support them. She often makes email contact with families and acts as link with the team who always feel they can contact her with any question or concern, no matter how small. Karen spends a lot of time writing presentations to support our consultants and going out and about to train and develop others in order to enhance patient care. Whether that be prisons or MIUs! Though the burns service and our patients recognise Karen always goes the extra mile, I felt that it would be nice to recognise the fact and to tell her how much we all appreciate her support, kind and caring attitude towards both staff and patients.
Raymond Colwill - Domestic, Gate 31
(nominated by Susan Bessant, Senior Staff Nurse on Gate 31)
Raymond is outstanding in his job, often going the extra mile without even being asked. Examples of this are: • If able, starting to deep clean a room, if the “clean team” are busy somewhere else on the unit. No questions asked. • He is always cheerful and speaking to patients in a positive manner. • If he sees the AMU team are transferring a patient in or out of the unit on a bed and he is vaguely near the automatic doors, he stops what he is doing and opens the doors for the team. He also says hello to the patient in a friendly manner. • He works very hard within the unit, you can really tell when he has done a shift. • He is always keen to help anyone in any way he can, whilst attending the duties of his job role. It is a pure pleasure having him work within Gate 31. Thank you Raymond.
Nicholas Vowles – Auditor, Patient Services Team
(nominated by Jay Jordan, FM Duty Manager)
Nick joined our team recently having worked previously as an imaging porter. He has really impressed me, his attitude is very much one of 'can do'. I have received feedback from many colleagues who have commented that Nick volunteers his time to help others when his schedule is completed. He doesn't need to be asked, he just gets on and helps and puts himself forward for the work, and this is a really important quality when working as part of a small team. Nick lives the values of working well together and deserves recognition for going above and beyond what is reasonably expected of him.
Jet O'Neill – Dementia Matron
(nominated by Sarah Lidgett and Bev Davies, Clinical Matrons)
Jet has worked in NBT for a considerable length of time. She has always demonstrated a passion and dedication to her career in caring for patients with complex needs and dementia. Jet not only provides clinical supervision and expertise in real time, but also supports the Trust with mandatory and supplementary training. We recently observed Jet executing some dementia training. Her level of knowledge regarding this patient group was outstanding and inspirational. Jet is always consistent and kind in her approach; she is an excellent role model who makes a difference to these patients. She is quiet, though confident and always delivers within her role on a daily basis, an unsung hero for NBT.
Georgina Holman & Olga Mihaly – Domestic Operatives, ICU
(nominated by Jay Jordan, FM Duty Manager)
Georgina and Olga work on the ICU ward cleaning the ICU pod rooms day to day. This is a very demanding cleaning role as they have to routinely clean the entire pod area as well as reacting to requests for deep cleans of up to 6 or 7 rooms per day. Both Georgina and Olga have formed a great partnership approach to the cleaning of the ward through staunch support of one another and their colleagues. They have embraced the value of working well together. As their manager I am aware of the efforts that go into what they do and I am so impressed. We have developed a great partnership approach with the ICU clinical team and I know they have confidence in the domestic team that work the ward. I want to thank them on behalf of the entire FM management team and tell them where proud of them both.
Tina Allan – Administrator, ED
(nominated by Danielle Morse, Specialty Manager in ED)
Tina is one of the kindest, most generous and helpful women I know. Tina goes above and beyond in all aspects of her role to help both staff and patients within the emergency department. A prime example of Tina’s nature is the occasion when an elderly gentleman was in the relatives room waiting for his wife who had been brought in as a trauma. The gentleman was elderly himself and not quite aware of what was going on. Tina offered him a cup of tea and he asked her if there was a newspaper he could read, joking about how long he might be waiting. We don't have newspapers in the department so Tina went to the shop for this gentleman and bought him 2 newspapers as she wasn't sure which he would prefer - Tina purchased these out of her own pocket. When Tina returned with the papers the gentleman was over the moon with this act of kindness. Sadly when Tina went back to check on him later the man was no longer in the department as he had gone to see his wife in Rose Cottage as she had passed away. Tina is an administrator and her job doesn't include much patient facing however Tina goes above and beyond to help and support the patients in the department. Tina has a challenging home life, but takes this in her stride and comes to work with such enthusiasm, always happy to help and keeps all of us (as well as the patients) smiling. Well done Tina, you are amazing!
Georgina Brehaut – ST5, Obs & Gynae
(nominated by Luned Nicholas, F2 in Obs & Gynae)
Georgie is an incredibly holistic doctor who is very kind and caring with patients. She is exceptional with unwell patients, leading emergency situations calmly and efficiently. She is able to orchestrate a team incredibly well and never loses her cool with the team. She is so professional with the patients in these circumstances and is very good at speaking to patients and relatives afterwards to explain what happened and further management. She seems to have knowledge and the capability of a doctor much her senior. She sometimes works outside of her hours in order to make sure patients are safe and well cared for. She is a great example of a doctor who loves her job and it is evident she will be a fantastic consultant in years to come. She deserves recognition for her continuous input with unwell patients to make sure their experience of the hospital in circumstances such as emergency C-sections or miscarriages are as positive as possible. Her ability to make both patient and staff feel safe in emergency situations is unparalleled.
Jill Boot – Team Lead, Physiotherapy
(nominated by Kerry Hunt, Physiotherapist)
After I took a period off work due to stress, Jill has been very important in my well-being and return to work planning. She has made herself available to me when required and tailored regular supervision sessions to ensure I have a regular forum to discuss any concerns, work load and pressures that I may need help prioritising and managing. Recently a difficult team issue arose and Jill ensured that I was made a priority giving me a designated time to discuss my concerns and come up with an action plan (taking her away from her planned schedule for that time). This meeting had no set time and was allowed to run until I was satisfied with a solution going forward. She has also continued to factor in time for me to review how this issue is progressing. I wanted to thank her for getting me back into work, back contributing to my service but also being a strong supporter of the trust well-being service. As my manager she has identified how I can tap into it preventing further stress but also my other colleagues who she line manages.
Sally Kelly – Senior Staff Nurse, ICU
(nominated by Callum Allen-Ridge, Perform Coach)
Sally is a credit to ICU as a senior staff nurse, she champions patient experience initiatives and drives team performance, by taking extra time to not only review current processes but also create and implement new and improved ways of working that are patient and staff focused. The perform team have witness Sally champion patient pathways and challenge poor practices. Sally manages her day to day duties with a calm and consistent approach and will make time for staff to feedback on initiatives or support her team at all levels. Sally is a proactive member of the team, who has great resilience to implementing quality improvement projects. When perform started in ICU we had to take time to write down all of the great projects that she has been involved in and continues to bring forward to the team, Sally has a fantastic vision of what ICU can achieve and is not scared or disheartened by setbacks. The team she works with closely have commented that Sally is inspirational to them for the extra work that she does and the support that she tries to consistently provide them. On more than one occasion we have also witnessed Sally receive feedback from patients and relatives about the quality of care they have received and how good the journey was for them through a service that Sally helps to run (PACE) post anaesthetic care environment.
Congratulations to all!