06/04/2023
Staff across the Western Trust were honoured recently for the huge contribution they make to health and care services in the West.
More than 200 staff and guests, including award winners, colleagues and management from across the Western Trust joined together at a special ceremony held at the Silverbirch Hotel, Omagh on Tuesday 04 April 2023.
Awards were made in nine categories celebrating care, innovation, leadership and excellent services being delivered each day by dedicated individuals and teams.
Welcoming everyone to the Trust’s Staff Recognition Awards ceremony Western Trust Chair Sam Pollock said:
“I am delighted to welcome guests to this wonderful celebration event today and look forward to hearing the many incredible innovative and inspirational nominations from individual staff and teams across the Western Trust who go above and beyond for patient/client care every day. Thank you for everything you do and congratulations on your outstanding achievement. Well done.”
The Awards were compered by BBC Weatherman Barra Best. Department of Health Permanent Secretary, Peter May; Western Trust Chair, Sam Pollock, Chief Executive, Neil Guckian and Director of Human Resources and Organisational Development, Karen Hargan, presented the awards and certificates to the winners and those highly commended.
Chief Executive, Neil Guckian spoke about his gratitude and pride in being a part of such an incredible Trust family. He said:
“It is humbling to be amongst Trust colleagues who continued to evolve and improve our services and provide compassionate and quality care during such an unprecedented time for healthcare.
“Whilst it’s great to recognise successes or significant achievements at our awards ceremony, I also think about the contributions our staff make on a daily basis. They’ve each delivered or supported care, faced new challenges and found alternative ways to overcome them. All this, whilst showing a continued commitment, loyalty and dedication to delivering the best services possible.”
A new award was introduced this year to reflect patient feedback. The Patient/Service User Experience Award acknowledged Care Opinion comments and Complements received in 2022. The worthy winners for this category were the Altnagelvin and South West Acute Hospital’s Emergency Department Teams, the Acute Care at Home Team, Derry and the Hospital at Home Team, Enniskillen.
Speaking at awards event Department of Health Permanent Secretary, Peter May, paid special tribute to the vital role played by health and social care staff in the West particularly during the Covid-19 Pandemic. He said:
“It is a privilege for me to attend this wonderful celebration event here today to express my heartfelt gratitude and thanks on behalf of myself and the Department and to congratulate the commitment and professionalism of health and social care staff in the Western Trust area.
He continued:
“The recipients of the awards are some of the very best people that the health and social care services have, and are examples of how individuals and teams in the HSC are working to deliver excellent services, which have the patient at their heart. The professionalism, dedication and compassion shown by the people working in health and social care services never ceases to amaze. The number of staff who go the extra mile to look after a patient or client, help a colleague, or develop better ways of working speaks volumes about the people that work in health and social care services at all levels.”
Individuals and teams were nominated by their colleagues across the nine award categories, alongside the coveted Chair’s award. Categories included; Championing Our Health Award, Frontline Champion, Improvement and Involvement, Leading the Way, Rising Star, Working Together Team Award and Supporting Our Services Champion Award. The long-term commitment and dedication of our staff was also recognised in the Lifetime Achievement awards.
This year recipients of Special Awards from across the Western Trust for were also invited to be recognised for their commitment to nursing, midwifery and social work including the Hilary Curry Cup for Cancer Services; Anona Clake Award for Midwifery; Joan Ross Award for Outstanding Social Work Practice; Nuala McLaughlin Award (Social Work) and the Patient/Service User Outcome and Experience Award.
| Category | Highly Commended | Winner |
|---|---|---|
| Supporting Our Services Champion Award | Joanne Sloan, Clerical Officer, Day Procedures Unit, Omagh Caroline Deeney, Physiotherapist Assistant, South Wing, Altnagelvin Richard Donnelly, Housekeeper, Emergency Dept, Altnagelvin | Marian Mercer, Organisational Development Manager, Gransha Jacqui Clifford, Clerical Officer, Shanthallow Health Centre Claire Brown, Clerical Officer, NWCC, Altnagelvin |
| Frontline Champion of the Year Award | Mary Quigley, Substitute Prescribing Nurse, Woodlea, Gransha Martha McColgan, Critical Care Nurse, Altnagelvin | Girish Shivashankar, Consultant Nephrologist, Altnagelvin Niall Byrne, Social Worker, Strabane Health Centre Betty Vance Lavigne, Staff Nurse, NNU |
| Rising Star Award | Alana McNeill, Social Worker, Review | Laura Storey, Residential Social Worker, Chapel Road, Derry |
| Working Together Team Award | Heather House Project Team Crisis Resolution and Home Treatment Team Sexual Health and Reproduction Team Creggan Day Centre, Derry Renal Team, Trustwide | Vaccination Team, Trustwide Adult Psychological Therapies Service |
| Improvement, Innovation and Involvement Award | OT Recovery Service, Green Therapy Project, Grangewood | Early Intervention Team |
| Leading the Way Award | Edel Drumm, Pharmacist, SWAH | Sinead Marlow, Speech Therapist, Waterside Health Centre |
| Championing Our Health and Wellbeing Award | Chaplaincy Team | Dr Mary Dooher and the Clinical Health Psychology Team |
| Life Time Achievement Award | Carmel Cochrane, Community Midwife, Strabane Maureen Miller, HOS, Midwifery Collette Hegarty, Secretary, Maybrook Day Centre Dr Jayne Porter, Retired Associate Specialist Community Paediatrics Lorna Ackroyd, Principal OT Mental Health Services Grangewood Martina Dempster, Snr Social Worker, Lead Drumcoo Nicky Fallon, Social Worker and F&CC Manager, Shanthallow Health Centre (retired) Siobhan McNeill, Hospital at Night Team, SWAH Colin Cotter, Social Worker, Waterside Hospital (retired) | Dr Philip Gardiner, Retired Consultant Physician, Altnagelvin Brendan Moore, Retired Principal Pharmacist, Altnagelvin Denise Armstrong, HOS Women and Childrens Joan Cunningham, Retired NNICU Nurse, SWAH Tyga Gebler, Senior Social Work Practitioner, F&CC Elizabeth (Betty) McFeeters, Nursing Assistant, Altnagelvin |
| Chair's Award | Chaplaincy Team Trustwide. | |
| Hilary Curry Cup (Soroptimist Society) | Kerry Chambers, Uro-Oncology Nurse Specialist, NWCC Hazel Templeton, Uro-Oncology Specialist Nurse, NWCC |
|
| Anona Clarke Award | Lisa McGill, Midwife, Altnagelvin | |
| The Joan Ross Award For Outstanding Social Work | Martina Dempster, Snr Social Worker, Lead Drumcoo (retired) Nicky Fallon, Social Worker and F&CC Manager, Shanthallow Health Centre (retired) |
|
| The Nuala McLaughlin Award | Scroggy Road Childrens Home, Limavady | |
| Patient / Service User Outcome and Experience | Acute Care at Home Team Hospital at Home Team Altnagelvin Emergency Department Team South West Acute Hospital Emergency Department Team |