Hospital Trust honours staff at annual awards ceremony

Staff from across University Hospital Southampton (UHS) were honoured during a special evening of celebration last night at the Trust’s annual awards ceremony.

The event, held at the Hilton based at the Ageas Bowl, saw colleagues recognised for their outstanding contribution and dedication to patient care, innovation and teamwork over the past year.

UHS chief executive David French and chief nursing officer Gail Byrne hosted the We Are UHS Champions ceremony, which saw a total of 21 awards presented to individuals and teams across 14 categories.

These included inspirational innovator, team of the year, patient outcome award and patient safety award, as well as special recognition awards from the chief executive and Chair of UHS.

The bone and marrow transplant (BMT) care coordinators received the patient outcome award (non-clinical) for being an “essential” part of the BMT and cellular programme and helping to deliver outstanding clinical outcomes and the best possible patient care.

Midwife Kate Raney was named clinical patient safety award winner for her dedication to improving the experience of women and their families undergoing caesarean birth under general anaesthetic.

Clinical team of the year went to E2 – a young adult cardiac unit – for team inclusivity and dedication to improving care for patients with learning disabilities and autism.

The haemostasis laboratory team won the non-clinical organisational improvement award for delivering an onsite blood test for a rare and life-threatening blood disorder which was previously sent to London.

This meant it took three days to receive the results but now takes only a few hours and was delivered by the team in just over a month.

Zoe Moore, paediatric learning disability and autism nurse practitioner, won the clinical patient improvement award for going above and beyond to support children with learning disabilities to ensure the very best care and outcomes for her patients.

The Chair award went to Nomalanga Bhebhe, maternity governance admin support, who has been “transformational” since joining the maternity patient safety team, while Dr Katrina Cathie, consultant paediatrician, was presented with the charity award in recognition of her fundraising efforts for Southampton Hospitals Charity.

She has currently raised more than £8,000 and is hoping to exceed £50,000 by the end of the year. This has all been achieved while undergoing successful treatment for breast cancer.

The membership award went to the nurses, physiotherapists and healthcare assistants on the F4 spinal unit for their compassion and understanding towards patients on the ward, many of which have sustained life-changing injuries.

The volunteer award went to Adrian Marks for his tireless dedication, passion and enthusiasm at the Oasis League of Friends café and shop on F level at the hospital.

There were 457 nominations in total and all staff were thanked for their ongoing dedication, commitment and compassion towards patients and each other.

The event was rounded off with a special CEO award which was presented to Karen Bent, senior healthcare assistant in orthopaedic outpatients.

Karen, who has worked in the department for more than 11 years, was nominated for always making the time to help all patients in her care, for taking great care in supporting patients with mental health issues or learning difficulties and is referred to by the rest of the team as the department’s “super woman”.

Mr French said: “It was great to come together last night to celebrate and share the successes and achievements of our people – the first time we have been able to do so in person since the pandemic, which made it an extra special occasion.

“Our colleagues amaze us every day with their unwavering dedication to patient care, the exceptional teamwork and compassion they show for each other, particularly during challenging times, as well as their ongoing desire to innovate and inspire.

“It was an honour to present the awards to this year’s winners, to hear about their nominations and showcase the amazing talent and excellence we have in our UHS family. I always leave events like this feeling extremely humbled and proud.”

He added: “All nominees and winners thoroughly deserve the accolade they received last night and I congratulate and thank each and every one of them – and all staff who work at the Trust – for everything they do.”

The evening was supported by partners Prime, Pulse Outdoor Media, Compass One Retail, Automata, Wi Fi Spark and NHS Professionals with special guests including Harry Dymond, chair at Healthwatch Southampton, and Debbie Chase, director of public health at Southampton City Council.

A full list of winners from the evening can be found here.