Nurse Julie wins your big hospital hero award

Medical marvels and hospital heroes who go the extra mile to save lives and help patients at Peterborough and Stamford hospitals have been recognised at a glittering awards night.
Peterborough Telegraph editor Mark Edwards with Julie Holroyd and awards host Kev Lawrence.Peterborough Telegraph editor Mark Edwards with Julie Holroyd and awards host Kev Lawrence.
Peterborough Telegraph editor Mark Edwards with Julie Holroyd and awards host Kev Lawrence.

The Peterborough and Stamford hospitals trust Outstanding Achievement Awards recognised many truly exceptional doctors, nurses, surgeons, and support staff.

The awards were held at the Marriott Hotel in Peterborough and were hosted by Heart radio’s breakfast presenter Kev Lawrence.

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The awards culminated with the Hospital Hero 2016 award which is voted for by readers of the Peterborough Telegraph and the Stamford Mercury.

All the finalists on stage after the awards ceremonyAll the finalists on stage after the awards ceremony
All the finalists on stage after the awards ceremony

The winner was Cardiology Nurse Practitioner Julie Holroyd who was nominated by a seriously ill patient who said: “The whole family felt incredibly supported, this nurse explained everything in such a way that we always understood the reasons behind why things were happening.

“She is caring and compassionate and brilliant at communicating, which is exactly what patients and their families need at such an arduous time.

“My daughter from Australia was anxious about leaving whilst I was unwell, but the staff member went out of her way to reassure her and as a result my daughter was confident that she could be in contact at any time if she needed to be. She is an absolute treasure.”

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Julie, from Peterborough, said: “It was a lovely event, I was absolutely stunned to be nominated let alone win the Hospital Hero Award of 2016!

All the finalists on stage after the awards ceremonyAll the finalists on stage after the awards ceremony
All the finalists on stage after the awards ceremony

“It is so nice to know that I have made a difference to patients in a positive way.

“Personally, I do think that I just do my job and that I am not extraordinary but I have received such lovely feedback and comments following the award presentation.

“I am lucky to work with an amazing team in Cardiology and I feel that the award, although presented to me, it reflects the whole department.”

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There was a flood of nominations for our Hospital Hero 2016 Award which also saw Esther Kirk, NICU Nurse nominated by the parents of premature twin girls.

Esther was given a Highly Commended award in the category. In their nomination the parents wrote: “Our girls Ava and Elouise were born at 25 weeks gestation in London. Sadly Elouise passed away just 18 hours old and Ava was admitted to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit in Peterborough.

“We were finally closer to home when we met Esther; she brought light to our journey and made our stay bearable.

“On the day of Elouise’s funeral, Esther was Ava’s nurse for the day, on our return to the unit Esther told us that she had cuddled Ava at 2pm, the time of the funeral, and told her all about her sister and was thinking of us.

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“The team on the unit knew it was a very difficult day for us, but it was also day 100 of Ava’s life and so we were greeted with a card and a little gift for her. Esther is a fantastic nurse and the work she does is amazing, we will be forever grateful to her.”

Also awarded highly commended was Mr Steven Goh, Consultant Oncoplastic Breast Surgeon, who was nominated by a number of his patients.

Patients who contacted us said that they had never experienced such great care.

Mr Goh makes a point of seeing his patients over bank holidays, weekends and even on his days off. He has been nominated repeatedly by patients for the second consecutive year. One wrote: “He shrugs the thanks and praise off as simply being part of ‘his job’ but his kind nature, friendly smile and jokes go a long way to make a difficult time much easier.

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“His patients feel as though they are his only patients and are treated with dignity, compassion and as individuals.”

Mark Edwards, editor of the Peterborough Telegraph and Stamford Mercury said: “It is a great pleasure for us to be able to highlight some of the truly exceptional work that goes on in our hospitals.

“There are some very special teams and some truly inspirational people doing incredible work.

“We know that the Hospital Hero Award nominations mean a great deal to those that receive them because they come directly from patients.

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“These fantastic people deserve all our thanks for the work that they do.”

Reward for health heroes

Our hospitals depend on great staff and teams, and those that go the extra mile to improve patient care were recognised at the Peterborough and Stamford hospitals trust’s annual Outstanding Achievement Awards.

Trust chairman Rob Hughes said: “This night is one for some of our outstanding staff to get the recognition they deserve. They are great people doing great things that help the hospitals and the people we serve.”

The awards included:

Team of the year winner

Ward B1 were the first to reach the important milestone of 1,000 days in which they managed to ensure their patients did not develop an avoidable pressure ulcer. It takes total team commitment and dedication to reach this.

Outstanding individual of the year

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Kay Ruggiero undertook some intensive work with staff across the Trust to successfully merge two large directorates into one in a short space of time. With a greater area of responsibility, she continues to support and encourage the management team and never hesitates to make herself available – even fulfilling clinical roles when the need arises. Her tireless work ensures that patients have the best possible care we can deliver.

Living our values- caring

Esther Dorken was nominated by a member of her team. The staff member was due to return to work following maternity leave, sadly, however, prior to her return she was diagnosed with cervical cancer.

She said that her manager was a phenominal person, who made sure she was okay, even visiting her at home following radiotherapy treatment, and kept her in regular contact. She was so supportive, making sure she kept in contact, even booking extra shifts on her weekends off so that she could work alongside the staff member on her return. The staff member who nominated said: “I have never experienced a manager who would give up so much of her own time for someone in their team who they do not see socially. She supported me to overcome the psychological impact from my diagnosis so much to the fact that I am now back practicing as a midwife again thanks to her.”

Living our values – creative

Alison Gray has worked tirelessly to improve the standard of care provided to patients with dementia. Not only does she see the patients, she makes herself fully available to relatives and carers too, so that she can provide advice and support at what can be a difficult time.

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She has single-handedly revolutionised the care provided by the trust to its patients with dementia by introducing a number of initiatives including dementia champions on each ward.

Living our values – community

Helen Fyall, Lead Chaplain is someone who is well known for her immense compassion to everyone she comes into contact with, be it a patient, visitor or staff member.

She always puts others before herself and her commitment to her role empowers her team to deliver the very best care to all they encounter in their roles.

Unsung hero of the year

Katie Taylor works incredibly hard alongside the team in our Critical Care unit. She is a physiotherapist who uses her exceptional lip reading skills to give critically ill patients the chance to communicate with staff and relatives.

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Despite the fact that this is not her usual area of work, she has gone out of her way to facilitate individualised care. Her input has made what can be a confusing and distressing environment so much more comfortable e for patients and their families.

Innovation or Improvement of the year

Clare Humphries and Jessica Yerrell, are two healthcare assistants from the Antenatal clinic who used their own initiative to teach staff how to upload foetal growth charts onto the new K2 system.