Annual Awards Recognise local NHS Heroes

City Hospitals Sunderland NHS Foundation Trust held its Reward and Recognition Awards on Friday celebrating examples of outstanding achievement from across the Trust and recognising staff who collectively have clocked up over 2600 years of service.

The annual staff awards, which are held at the Stadium of Light, invite nominations for individuals and teams who have gone the extra mile and made a significant contribution in key areas across the trust, including patient care, leadership, service improvement and innovation. Those with 30 and 40 years NHS service are also recognised for their long service.

Chief Executive, Ken Bremner presented the specially commissioned glass awards before rounding off proceedings by making two special awards that he chose himself. The first was a Special Recognition Award to Director of Corporate Affairs and Trust Secretary, Carol Harries, who retires next year after 45 years’ service in the NHS.

Finally, Ken announced the Chief Executive’s Award, presented to one member of the City Hospitals Sunderland Team who he feels deserves extra recognition. The Award was presented to Switchboard Manager and Unison Lead, Ann Clay. Ken praised Ann for being a tireless advocate for staff and a fantastic ambassador for the Trust.

Ken said: “The Reward and Recognition Awards are our way of saying thank you to staff across the organisation who have gone the extra mile and made a positive contribution to the already outstanding work that takes place across the Trust. The best thing about the awards is that everyone nominated is chosen by their peers. It’s these people working on the front line and in the heart of departments across the Trust that really see and understand the amazing work that is happening on a daily basis and it often means so much more to staff to have such support, respect and recognition from their colleagues.

“I would like to congratulate all those nominated and all of our winners who have given us such inspiring ideas and examples of best practice. I have to also pay tribute to all colleagues celebrating 30 and 40 years’ service in the NHS. This is an amazing achievement and their loyalty and ongoing contribution to deliver the very best patient care, day-in, day-out, is something we should all be very proud of. I must also mention Ann and Carol, who are so deserving of their awards because they are such pivotal members of the CHS team and respected and admired by everyone across the Trust. I really feel very privileged to work alongside such a dedicated and talented team of professionals. Each and every member plays an important role in making the Trust a great place to work and a place where our patients can access excellent care.”

The Awards are open to all staff at the Trust and recognise the many varied roles that all play a vital part in the running of City Hospitals Sunderland Foundation Trust.

The full list of winners is:

Harry Cruddace Memorial Award

Sharon Stothard, Sister, Chest Clinic and Jane Douthwaite, Midwife

Customer Service Award

Brian Laws, Occupational Therapy Assistant

Customer Service Team Award

Day of Surgery Admissions Unit

Service Improvement and Innovation Award

ICCU and Renal Teams

Care and Compassion Award

Amanda Wardle, Paediatric Physiotherapist

Non-Clinical Team of the Year

The Emergency Department Build Team

Clinical Team of the Year

The Neurophysiology Team

Leadership Award

Naomi Chamberlain, Consultant in Respiratory Medicine

Outstanding Contribution Award

Scott Davison, IT Infrastructure Engineer

David Steele, Consultant Ophthalmologist

Excellence Award

Margaret Robertson, Health Care Assistant

The Governor’s Award

Michael Schuster, Pharmacist

The Chief Executive’s Special Contribution Award

Carol Harries, Director of Corporate Affairs and Trust Secretary

The Chief Executive’s Award

Ann Clay, Switchboard Manager and Unison Lead