Making a Difference 2024

Congratulations to all Trust staff nominated for a Making a Difference Award – below are our winners.

Click here for details about how to nominate.

September

Victoria Falkiner – Rehabilitation Assistant

We, as a team, would like to nominate our colleague Victoria Falkiner for a making a difference award. We believe Victoria is exactly the kind of employee and person that this award should celebrate and someone who absolutely exemplifies the trust’s values of Kindness, Integrity, Teamwork and Equality.

Victoria treats our patients as if they were her own family. She will often spend her own time outside of work getting supplies for patient therapy groups, or taking home and washing clothes for patients who don’t have any one to do it for them. There is no job she will not do to help our patients.

Victoria displays integrity in every facet of her work. She holds herself and her colleagues to a very high standard of work – which reflects in the care our patients receive.

Victoria is a fantastic team worker and an invaluable part of our team. She is usually first to arrive and last to leave and is always willing to stay late to help colleagues or patients in need. Recently she stayed an extra 45 minutes after her shift to help a patient in need, not only did she stay late but it coincided with her annual leave, meaning she literally delayed her holiday to help a patient. She is well versed in every aspect of her role and is always willing and able to assist colleagues or to take on jobs herself to help workload issues.

Victoria demonstrates her commitment to equality every day. Treating every patient she works with (no matter age, gender, race, religion) as an extension of her own family. She works hard for every patient she sees and never judges others. This is shown by just how many strong relationships she has formed with our patients over the years.

Jo Williams – Midwife, Community Midwife

Jo adheres to all of the KITE values and goes above and beyond! Jo has been my daughter in laws midwife throughout and wanted to deliver her baby. Jo was on hand last minute and was able to safely deliver her baby, but in doing so had stayed an extra 5 hours over her shift. I can really see the value she gives to her work and team.

Becky Albro – Resourcing Supervisor, HR Resourcing

Becky has assisted us recently in a long and difficult recruitment process. We have had multiple delays and problems, and yet Becky has continued to be helpful and informative the whole way through. When we had multiple candidates withdraw, she was instrumental in ensuring reserve candidates were made available and got their interview booked. Becky listened to all our questions, understood the reasons for the delays, and helped us communicate effectively as to what we needed from the process. I am confident that the recruitment process for our role would never have reached its conclusion without Becky’s involvement, and we are very grateful and appreciative of her willingness to go the extra mile for the benefit of other HDFT departments. Becky went above and beyond to ensure our team had suitable candidates available for interviews.

Second Nomination

Becky’s support during a recent recruitment experience was invaluable and I’m very much aware it could have gone completely differently were it not for her patience, her understanding, her sympathy and her willingness to try her hardest to accommodate.
Becky demonstrated flexibility and understanding above and beyond what was required, in my opinion. Her helpful and intuitive guidance in conjunction with her knowledge, experience and readiness to refer to her line manager enabled us to conduct a successful round of interviews at the end of an otherwise quite stressful and time consuming process. I feel Recruitment is possibly an unappreciated field of endeavour but so necessary to the continued operational success of the Trust.

Gina Galton- Resourcing Assistant, Chloe Paxton -Lawrence – Senior Medical Resourcing Officer and Dylan Powell – Medical Resourcing Officer

Gina, I want to express my sincere thanks for your help and guidance throughout this short journey. Your expertise and dedication has made a significant difference to me. You are very welcoming and I feel like being myself around you- please continue to be just as you are- truly wonderful! May all your dreams come to fruition and may you receive every blessing you deserve. Thank you once again!

Chloe, I am truly thankful for your guidance, patience and support though this process. You are amazing a person. Your appreciation of my honesty has given me the courage to be open and to trust myself with any decision like a true well-wisher and I am extremely grateful for that I wish you all the very best for future endeavours and wishing you continued success and fulfilment

Dylan, I am deeply grateful for your guidance and support throughout this process. Your efforts are much appreciated! Your assistance has been invaluable, and I truly wish you continued success and happiness in all that you do. Thank you again!

Natalie Robinson – Senior Technician – Aseptic Services

Natalie was nominated as she has recently moved into a newer role with significantly more responsibility and she is absolutely thriving and making a huge difference to our service already and I am so proud of her for taking on the challenge. She is reliable and comes to work with a CAN DO attitude, I have never once heard her say ‘we can’t do that’, she always comes up with a solution to fix issues and does not shy away from difficult situations. She is a pleasure to work with. On Thursday 5 September, Natalie arrived at work to find our aseptic unit and surrounding areas flooded. She was the first team member on site, the thing that struck me most about Natalie that day was her calm attitude. The whole situation sent our service into chaos, but Natalie remained calm and measured throughout which then resonated with the rest of the team. She came up with a plan for what we needed to do, we talked it all through and she discussed this with the team and the plan was implemented. She really is one of a kind and is thoroughly deserving of this award.

Graham Miller – Finance Manager, Management Team PSC

Graham was nominated for taking the lead on and is passionate to promote waste reduction and productivity efficiencies (WRAP) both in PSC and across the Directorates. He has started Gemba style walks in Theatres, runs weekly WRAP & Go sessions, is working with the other Finance Managers to introduce WRAP champions and has shared numerous ideas with PSC using Model Health and Get it Right First Time (GIRFT) data. Graham offers to support / cover for the team on numerous occasions even when he is busy himself and his efforts being the EDI Lead for Finance and setup HNY EDI Finance working group.

Richard Webster – Desktop Support Engineer

Richard was nominated for taking his time out to help with a foot pedal and trying to get it to work. He did this whilst sorting another job in our department which was very much appreciated. He is amazing! He is a key member of the team and very liked by everyone. Rich goes above and beyond and nothing is too much for him.

Shona Shires – Respiratory Specialist Nurse

Shona set up the respiratory nurse service 25 years ago. She has been a leading driving force behind a wonderful service. As a constantly evolving service it has always had Shona’s caring attitude. She has given all her compassion to patients and her colleagues. She always shared her knowledge and experience and her passion is very catching. Shona has been my mentor, educator, character builder, role model and a rock for the 15 years we have worked together. Shona is well known to our patients and they always enquire after her as she is always very approachable and would always do her up most and more to help. Shona always led by a wonderful example of care, compassion, kindness, understanding, support and this is what we are, as a team, very grateful for.

August

Angie Gaskill – Health Visitor

Could I nominate Angela Gaskill, Health Visitor in 0-19 Family Health Service in South Durham for a Making a Difference award. I received the following feedback from the SCPHN Health Visitor Student, who Angela has supported, as his Supervisor, during his Training.

Can I just say I do look forward to working within the south Durham team. I have been quite lucky to work all over the south and have met quite a good bunch of ladies, however I do have to say that working under Health Visitor Angie has been a truly amazing experience. She has been the rock that as a student we hope we get. She has held the trust kite values to a very high standard and if I get to be as half as good as her before I retire I will be able to leave knowing I have done well.

Angela is very professional and passionate Health Visitor, always going above and beyond to give the best service to clients in the County Durham 0-25 Growing Healthy Team.

Chris Robinson – Senior HR Advisor

Chris is always so approachable, welcoming and always makes time for anyone who requires his support, most recently, he has been both the professional expert in supporting myself and ward managers through challenging times. As well as upholding the trust values and behaviours he is empathetic, understanding and genuinely cares about the staff at HDFT and is deserving of this recognition.

Emily Jonas – Sister/Charge Nurse, Nidderdale

Emily is the best leader and role model we have ever seen. She supports the team really well and makes sure everyone on shift is being looked after. She keeps the working environment really calm and stress free. She goes above and beyond to support the team and treats everyone equally. She support really well with any training and study days. Emily never misses to thank anyone or check in on anyone when the shift has ended. She will search for each and every person to say “thank you” and “you did really well today”. If she can’t find someone before going home she will text or ring them to ask if everything was okay. We always look forward to working with Emily, she is such an amazing inspirational leader.

Aisha Nawaz – Specialist Pharmacist – Surgical Services

We would like to acknowledge how hard Aisha has worked and how well she has supported the whole team. Aisha has offered to pick up additional tasks, support gaps in rotas and generally deal with her workload with professionalism and kindness. She epitomises the Trust values in everything that she does and is an asset to our team and our patients.

“Aisha is a very valued member of the team. She is calm cool and collected and manages her ward work with last minute changes to rota/cover/support amazingly. She is always so gracious when we ask for additional support in the warfarin clinic and is an excellent member of the team and a credit to the anticoagulation service!” “Aisha is so reliable and helps out the whole team wherever is needs.” “Aisha settled into her new rotation well and I could already see how hard she worked to ensure patient care was priority. Aisha is polite and professional in all aspects of her work.  During staff shortages, Aisha stepped up to help her colleagues and offered to cover gaps in the rota. She has clearly taken the trust values and transferred them to the patient’s bedside setting. No matter how complex or simple the issue may be Aisha goes the extra mile to not only ensure the query is solved but also communicates this to the relevant staff really well.” “Aisha’s resilience and caring nature has helped all of us at some point get through our day when things have got really tough on the wards.”

Dr Natalia Gunaratna – Consultant

Talia put the patients at the very heart of everything she does, she goes out of her way to ensure that all of patients’ holistic needs are considered in their care. Talia works tirelessly to treat patients and their relatives with compassion and understanding at the most difficult times. She is very proactive and enthusiastic about improving the care we provide on our ward and patient/relatives experience. I really cannot put into works how much Talia embodies all of the trust values and how she does this on a daily basis with colleagues, relatives and patients alike. Although Talia is the consultant and the most senior doctor on the ward, she treats every single individual with respect and ensure they feelings are validated and their concerns/ feedback acknowledged and addressed.
Examples: 1. A patient who has been very distressed on the ward she took him down to the garden herself to see if the change in environment would help with his mental health and recovery 2. Talia is happy to be called about her patients to offer advice and support when she is not at work 3. Multiple cards and letters from relatives over the last 2+ years highlighting what it has meant to patients and relatives the high standard of care and Talia going the extra mile. 4. Any new member of the staff to the ward, Talia always makes them feel very included and welcome and goes out of her way to be a really approachable consultant.

Gina Ledgeway – Clinical Support Worker, Medical Day Unit

Gina alongside her colleague coordinates and runs Harrogate’s Venesection service. Gina is highly skilled, friendly and professional in the work she does. When Gina isn’t providing the Venesection service she helps coordinate treatments for the Medical Day Unit and often assisting with clinical procedures. Gina works tirelessly to ensure high standards of care is given and ensures patient safety and satisfaction across the whole unit.

Lucy Addyman – Sister, Medical Day Unit

Lucy was nominated for all of the hard work she has put in to the Medical Day Unit over many years. Every day she is kind and supportive to the whole team new and old! Her professionalism and kind personality is appreciated by patients and valued by the team.

Lucy has shown determination, dedication and adaptable leadership throughout the recent changes and navigating the upcoming changes, while ensuring her patients and staff are always put first.

Emma Little – Outpatients Receptionist / Case Note Library Clerical Officer

Emma was nominated for always displaying the trust values and goes above and beyond to ensure patients have a smooth visit in the hospital. Working on the front desk comes with daily challenges from happy, angry, sad, confused Emma always handles these situations with kindness and has a very caring manner and gentle tone. Emma is a true credit to her team and nothing is too much trouble. Emma has on numerous of times taken patients to their appointments in a wheelchair or escorted them avoiding any distress to the patient.

Jemma Waddington – Sister/Charge Nurse, Rowan

Jemma has gone above and beyond to sign post to additional support for colleagues.. As well as following all HR guidance Jemma contacted the Wellbeing Manager to see what additional support/sign posting is available. She has offered additional support to her colleagues by way of regular check-ins, made time to find out about wider additional support services, and offered to submit written support for colleagues. Her kindness, compassion and thoughtfulness are an excellent example of Trust Values. Thank you, Jemma!

Janet Carling – Lead Diabetes Nurse

Janet was nominated by a patients who said I just wanted to leave some VERY positive feedback about my experience with Janet. During my pregnancy I had multiple complications, no movement until 34 weeks, gestational diabetes and gestational hypertension. I then had a 5 day stay due to baby needing jaundice treatment. Janet, the diabetes specialist nurse was absolutely amazing! I genuinely think she is the most motivating and kindest healthcare professional I have ever met. She did regular check ins and reassured me that I was doing a good job, despite the volumes of insulin I was on. Janet genuinely cares about her patients and she is amazing at boosting you up when you feel like a failure.

Rachel Molyneux – SLT Assistant Practitioner – Autism Services

Rachel has been a core member of the Autism Assessment team from its inception back in 2012 and her role has changed more than she could ever have anticipated over the years. Rachel has always focussed on the experience of the family and how she can smooth their journey through our service. As a key link for families, she is often exposed to their raw feelings and pain, and she gently contains their distress and steers them to connections and support services. She is warm, empathic and flexible. Rachel will often spot key information that her colleagues need to know, and will ensure that this is shared in a timely way. For example, noticing if a young person is wavering around whether to have an assessment, so we can ensure we review consent, or if important information has been returned by an education setting that the team need to know about. Rachel draws upon years (decades!) of experience to help us think about what has and hasn’t worked in the past. Rachel has shown incredible ability to adapt to changes and make the best of situations. At the heart of everything she does is an unwavering conviction that the families and colleagues she support deserve her best efforts. She is an asset to the team and we want her to know how grateful we are to have her!

July

Dan Thirkell – Business Development Manager

Over the past year Dan has worked extremely hard to get the HDFT Domiciliary Care team off the ground.  He has led from a business development project at every step of the way with the utmost professionalism.  There has been a tremendous amount of work that has gone on in the background negotiating with internal and external stakeholders meaning that HDFT were only the 2^nd NHS trust to get dual health and social care CQC registration and probably the 1^st NHS organisation to have a bridging contract with the local authority.  Dan has chaired the weekly working group meetings keeping everyone on track regardless of position, he has had to do this with quite a lot of pressure from senior personnel at times and has always done it with a smile on his face.  One thing that really stood out in all the meetings he has chaired was the way he always thanks people for their contribution which comes across as natural to him but also very genuine.  For me this is a great example of someone consistently demonstrating our Trust values.

Martin Harvey – IT Interface Manager

Martin has been integral to the success of a number of projects over the years that have had a direct impact on patient care. Martin has supported the pharmacy team to be able to send discharge letters to community pharmacies and has allowed us to use systems (and develop new ones!) to prioritise workload.
Martin has now produced a messaging system that automatically notifies pharmacy when a ‘To Take Out’ has been submitted and this has dropped the time between submission of the TTO and pharmacy action by over 50%. Martin did this without fuss or fanfare – as always – but this has had a significant impact in many ways. The workflow through pharmacy has now been streamlined, supporting flow across the organisation but most importantly allowing patients to get home quicker. It’s a fantastic piece of work that deserves recognition.

Kate Hennessy- MAD

I would like to nominate Kate Hennessy, Midwife for the care and attention she provided to my daughter in labour on her night shift Friday 5 July. While other staff involved in my daughter’s care were great, we felt Kate was outstanding.

Kate was so warm, kind, gentle and supportive. My daughter’s waters had broken on the Wednesday night, she came in Thursday morning and was asked to come back in Thursday evening. She contracted all Friday from 6am, with the support of a syntocinon drip and monitoring, but unfortunately she did not dilate beyond 2 cm despite contracting for 20 hours.

As the night progressed Kate had concerns about baby’s heart rate and intervened to try different ways to improve this. My daughter was already exhausted given she had little sleep since the Tuesday.

As a birth partner I felt impressed how Kate managed the situation. I felt reassured she was calmly in control and escalated her concerns in such a timely and caring manner, gently interacting with my exhausted daughter and with myself as I was alert to her concerns which was scary but I always felt she was looking after my daughter and granddaughter with exceptional prudence, so from the bottom of my heart thank you.

Paula Olsen-Sorby- 

Paula is an exceptional manager and colleague. She always helps whenever she is able to, is always kind, respectful, supportive and approachable. She works tirelessly to ensure staffing is as best as it can be, she supports midwives in charge on shift during busy stretched periods and advocates for staff continually. She takes the time to actively listen and respond to her colleagues, particularly if staff are raising concerns or seeking information. She embodies all the trust values and is a truly inspirational leader. Paula has been the most incredible support to me since I commenced my deputy Pannal ward manager role earlier this year. She has taken on and is planning to take on extra work to support Pannal ward in the absence of the ward manager (until the new manager comes into post in August). She has been so very patient and understanding and without her support I would not have been able to adapt to my role and gain confidence with my deputy duties over the past few weeks.

Alice Hainsby, Blair Temple and Jennifer Hannington

Alice received a call from a service user asking for the Health Visitor to attend the home urgently as she was scared of her boyfriend, the Health Visitor already had a planned appointment to visit that day. Alice escalated her concern, Locality Manager Jennifer Hannington contacted the police to report concern and arranged to undertake a joint visit with health Visitor Blair Temple. Jennifer and Blair visited the family the same morning to assess and offer support. Following an assessment onward referral to children’s services was for further support. Alice acted with integrity by escalating worries and concerns, and explaining this to the parent on the phone. Jennifer and Blair acted with integrity by contacting the police to ensure safety, arranging a joint visit in a quick timeframe to assess and offer support to ensure safety of the babies and parents. All 3 colleagues communicated with the parent and other partners to ensure the correct assessments and support could be delivered which made a difference for this family

Elizabeth Archer

Elizabeth leads with HDFTs values. There have been challenging times across the teams Elizabeth works in, every challenge that arises Elizabeth works through the challenge with the team, supporting the teams to continue to deliver services whilst leading on transformational change. Elizabeth has supported CHIS colleagues to work through huge issues with coding, led on re-design of the NCMP delivery across North Yorkshire and supported the West Health Visiting Team to continue to deliver the service with a severely depleted team. Elizabeth manages to keep a smile on her face throughout all the challenges and we appreciate her support.

Donna Arthur

Donna used to work in the team I am currently in. So not only has she helped me with the IT issues I was facing She also went over and above knowing how much pressure I was under to help me and talk me through a process I was unfamiliar with. This really supported the trust KITE values. She doesn’t just do this for me, it’s for the whole team. This isn’t her line of work anymore she could have stopped at the IT bit. But because she’s so lovely and could see I was in dire straits he stayed on the phone longer to help me reach a deadline for a request for information governance that was complex. She cared that I was okay but also knew the importune of getting it completed. Honestly oozing the trusts morals and values. Thank you Donna you really are fab! She went over and above her ‘job’ in this situation. Always does whenever I call for help. She cares still so very much. That’s unique. She made me feel that I wasn’t alone and helped me when I really needed it. For nothing other than to help. Really very grateful.

Dr Nas Malik

Nas has been a real help to SDEC whilst they have been undertaking IMPACT work around inappropriate referrals. He has been the key contact in ED for the SDEC team to discuss referrals that have been sent to the department that have been deemed as inappropriate, he always replies to queries with kindness and honesty and discusses inappropriate referrals with the referrer to allow for staff to learn more about pathways, policies and ongoing plans of care.

He is approachable and he has allowed for ED and SDEC to continue to work towards building great working relationships together. I think he is very worthy of this award for multiple reasons but the recent work he has been helping SDEC to do has really made him stand out for being so helpful and so understanding.

Nas has been instrumental in various pieces of improvement work in support of ED and other areas across site including the Assumed Acceptance Pilot across medicine. This happened some time ago but the benefits are continuing with plans to roll out wider in the near future. He uses breadth of knowledge, kind nature and ability to bring people with him to drive change and get people on board. Nas supports the ED team by delivering Clinical Education on a regular basis.

Penny Spencer – Specialist Occupational Therapist, Respiratory Acute Therapy

Penny was nominated for a Making a Difference Award to recognise her amazing work. Penny works closely with the cardiac rehab team. We often refer patients to her for emotional support and anxiety management after their life changing cardiac event. We receive so much positive feedback from our patients about how beneficial the 1:1 sessions are; how they are able to work through their worries and anxieties after and how lovely she is. She is a credit to our team and it is always lovely knowing we can offer this lovely support to our patients at such a vulnerable time in their lives. A professional through and through!

Thresiamma Augustine – Sister/Charge Nurse, Oakdale

Thressi was nominated after receiving lovely feedback from a colleague who said they would like to acknowledge the incredible work from Thressiamma, for her outstanding performance on Oakdale during the doctor’s strikes, and over the past few years I have known her. Her enthusiasm and dedication has improved efficiency and patient care in a previously very challenging ward environment. Thressiamma consistently demonstrates our trust values of integrity, teamwork, kindness, and equality. The teamwork Thressiamma demonstrates is excellent. She collaborates with both medical and nursing staff, fostering a cohesive and supportive environment. She always performs to the highest standards ensuring each patient receives excellent care. Her commitment enhances the overall culture the ward, making it a welcoming and positive environment for all. Her efforts have not gone unnoticed, and I am confident that her continued dedication will lead to even greater improvements in patient care.

Ganet Gabrehiwot – Care Support Worker, Jervaulx

Ganet was nominated as she is hardworking and conscientious who quietly gets on with her role but is so caring and kind to both the patients and staff. On a particular hot day Ganet went out of her way to continuously go back and ensure each of the patients were assisted or encouraged to drink more – she would get people cold fresh water to encourage them to want to drink. She also ensured patients who were nil by mouth got more regular mouth care to stop them drying up more in the heat.

Jonathan Nicholls- Trainee Information Analyst

Jonathan has been pivotal in designing a discharge dashboard. In addition he has supported all the wards in HDFT with collecting accurately data for external submission. He has always been helpful, friendly and informative. His engagement with clinical teams to keep data accurate and patients pathways recorded has been excellent. We would like Jonathan to be recognised before he leaves so he knows how valued he was

Fiona Campbell- IM3- Diabetes and Endocrinology

While on a very busy night shift Fiona displayed outstanding leadership and stayed calm under extraordinarily high pressure and demand when responding to a crash call in the obstetric theatre. Fiona quickly saw the gravity of the situation and without hesitation, she assumed the role of team leader. She delegated tasks and communicated effectively with the team, ensuring everyone was aligned and informed at every step. Her composure and effective leadership was remarkable.

Dr Claire Panayi – Clinical Psychologist

Claire works tirelessly on providing a high quality service to her young patients in the epilepsy and diabetes team. She is passionate about her work and strives to balance competing demands. Feedback from a family Claire has worked with: they said Claire’s 1:1 sessions with her daughter has been “an absolute game changer”. She said Claire is just incredible and have not only supported her daughter with her Epilepsy but also helped her to adapt to life in England and the massive challenges that has brought. She said you have made such a difference and they are so grateful.

Joe Hallam – Theatres Materials Management Officer

Joe was nominated having received consistent positive feedback. As part of his role he is often dealing with fraught situations and stressed out colleagues. It has been shared that his calm and professional demeanour has a very positive effect on situations and the staff find him approachable, supportive and reliable. He is an excellent example of how the trust values should be upheld. Joe often works behind the scenes to ensure that patients and clinical staff have what they need.

June

Louise McGourty – Care Support Worker, Wensleydale Ward

Louise made such a difference to my Grandma’s care whilst on Wensleydale Ward. My Grandma is losing her vision and Louise would happily spend time reading her the menu, persuading her to choose food and if she didn’t like it when it arrived, sourcing alternative food. Nothing was too much trouble for Louise and the days when she was on duty, she would go over and above to lift Grandma’s spirits, take time to talk and give gentle encouragement when times were hard.
Louise sets a great example of how the little things, like washing and drying Grandma’s hair for her, can make such a difference in a patient’s recovery and how they feel. Just taking that little bit of extra time really did make a huge difference. Thank you Louise!

Natasha Hughes – Business Support Officer, Management Team PSC

Tash was nominated as she has really stepped up in the absence of a Service Manager. Tash regularly deputises for the Service Manager for example attending network meetings and supporting completion of appropriate actions. Tash is really supportive, proactive and a strong team player. Tash has a really positive ‘can do’ attitude and nothing is too much trouble. Tash is a problem solver and seeks to identify solutions to issue prior to escalating them. I am very grateful that Tash has stepped up in the absence of a Service Manager and has taken everything in her stride. This has enabled the Care Group 1 to still function and drive work streams forward. Tash has an excellent work ethos and maintains the Trust Values in all situations. As part of her role Tash interacts with a wide range of staff both internal and external and the feedback following these interactions is always positive.

Kimberly Schoen – Physician Associate, Doctors in Training – LTUC

Kim has advocated, enabled, and educated students to a brilliant high standard. Our 4 students have had an amazing placement and feedback is looking promising. Kim has rallied colleagues together, embodied our trust values and gone above and beyond.

Susan Wilson – Family Nurse Practitioner, Gateshead

Susan was nominated for all of her efforts in the role as a professional nurse advocate to ensure that her team have an element of clinical supervision in their roles within the 0-19 service. She has been an inspiration to the wider team of professional advocates – we use her as an example of “What good looks like.” Susan is professional in her approach to staff support, but with wonderful kindness and humour, a fantastic font of experience and knowledge. The feedback from practitioners has been overwhelmingly positive and they now appreciate the power of genuine effective supervision.

Kealy Hewick – Administration Assistant, Specialist Children’s

Kealy was nominated for all the help and support she has given to Medical Secretary colleagues with a back log of work. Kealy is a dream to work with! She always reaches out and offers her help and support to members of the team, and does this while also staying on top of her own work. Nothing seems to phase her and she has such a ‘can-do’ attitude.
Kealy is open and honest with her colleagues at all times about what level of support she can offer them. This has sometimes involved her learning new skills. She always manages to meet commitments she makes to her colleagues. Kealy has also completely overhauled the EHCP process which means as a trust we are less likely to breach deadlines. To do this she has established and maintained excellent relationships with her colleagues.

Jo Orgles –Infant Feeding Co-ordinator, Pannal Ward and Leah Hutchinson – Midwife, Maternity Staffing

Jo and Leah have undertaken extra training to perform tongue-tie divisions as part of a midwife-led service. Previously parents and babies may have had a long wait to be seen at an external trust, or sought private help. Leah and Jo have reduced waiting times, reduced potential complaints, and provide a valuable service for local families for them to continue to feed their babies with excellent support. They deserve recognition and thanks for their hard work.

Alison Raytchev – Community Health Resilience Practitioner and Maria Clarke – Community Anchor, Durham management Team

Alison is a very professional valued member of the 0 – 25 FHS in Co Durham, she’s highly skilled and diligent in her work, she’s passionate about the service and works hard to support staff and teams. Alison is an excellent trainer and educator. Alison takes great interest in and responsibility for her training role in speech language and communication, Alison is highly reliable around any task or piece of work she’s asked to complete and supports  the HDFT values effortlessly.

Maria is extremely enthusiastic and she’s incredibly supportive of our 0 – 25 Family Health Service and is influential in its delivery and quality. Marias enthusiasm is infectious, she has such an impact on her colleagues who are inspired by her to provide a quality intervention. Nothing is too much trouble and she willingly goes above and beyond to support colleagues, partners, children and families.

Arlin Mathew – HR Officer, HR Operational

Arlin was nominated for the incredible support she gave another colleague with the mammoth task of rebuilding the team’s flexible working. Arlin supported throughout the entire process and was always at the end of the phone to answer last minute questions. If she didn’t know the answer, she found out and got straight back to me. Arlin went above and beyond by supporting with interviews, working out deadlines, taking notes and writing letters and booking meeting rooms, whilst calmly reassuring that our end goal was insight! Arlin has such a kind and caring nature, she sensed when I was getting snowed under and always asked if there was anything else she good do to help. At the end of every catch up we had she never failed to ask ‘and how are you? Promise me you’ll take a break?’ Throughout our flexible working review, Arlin listened to everyone as an individual, advocating where necessary. Arlin will go a long way in her career.

Suzanne Franklin – Medical Secretary, Admin Services Ophthalmology

Suzanne was nominated for going above and beyond to share her expertise, knowledge support and encourage personal development among colleagues. Suzanne puts her team first and is always approachable and understanding when advice or guidance is applied for by any of the team.

Stella Balogun – Projects Manager

Stella was nominated for all her efforts in project managing the delivery of the Ripon Community Diagnostic Centre. She has worked with clinical and operational colleagues in multiple departments across the Trust and with NHS Property Services and external contractors to bring together building work, new equipment, workforce and recruitment, and clinical and operational services. Phase 1 of the CDC opened on time and to budget in April and is already providing fantastic new services for people in Ripon. This wouldn’t have happened without Stella! She has demonstrated outstanding professionalism, project management and lots of potential for the future. Stella has built strong relationships internally and externally to deliver the project. She has been proactive, resourceful and determined in solving problems and working with colleagues to overcome every obstacle presented. She has represented the Trust with the ICB diagnostic programme very professionally ensuring the ICB team has confidence in our project. She has been organised, diligent and has worked way beyond expectations to deliver a complex project with multiple internal and external stakeholders. She has been open and honest when there have been issues and this has enabled her to seek help and advice to solve problems. This has maintained the trust and confidence of her colleagues leading to the whole team working together, led by Stella, to deliver the project

Gail Clark – Purchasing Officer, Procurement

Gail was nominated for being efficient, helpful friends, thoughtful and always willing to go the extra mile. She is always quick in replying to queries with detailed replies and is informative keeping colleagues updated on orders with delivery dates and/or delays. If items are out of stock then she will look for an alternative.

Molly Wass – Maternity Support Worker, Community Midwifery

Molly was nominated for working extremely hard every day to support the Community Midwifery team. She goes above and beyond by putting herself forward to take extra visits on busy days, helping with any admin task and she’s always there to answer the phone and support women with their queries. Her communication skills within the team and with the women and families she visits is fantastic. A family commented on how lovely Molly was and asked if she would visit them again. Molly does everything with a smile on her face and brings a positive attitude to the team.

Rachael Houghton – Health Care Support Worker, Ophthalmology Outpatients

Rachael will not hesitate to step up and work extra shifts often at very short notice. She has stayed late many times and worked extra Saturdays to accommodate late finishes and extra clinics. She has also been very supportive of the new learners and acted as a mentor for them whilst training them. She is very approachable and having worked for the Trust for nearly 23 years, has a sound knowledge of how the department runs.

Vicky Reeve – Patient Pathway Manager, Medical Records LTUC

Vicky was nominated for making an outstanding impact on both her team and the service we are able to provide our patients. The transition of medical records into directorates was a challenging time for many staff who relied on Vicky for support and reassurance. Vicky has embraced the challenge and shines as a leader. She exudes the kite values and is a much valued manager and LTUC colleague.

Quotes from her team:

“She’s never too busy to answer any of our questions and always tries to solve any problems or issues we may have.

“Vicky has been a breath of fresh air. She has listened to us as a team and tried her best to get things changed and has been honest with us when giving the team updates. She always has time for you despite how busy she is.

“We can rely on Vicky for advice, a listening ear, a decision, a suggestion and all with a positive approach and a reassuring word. Even when she does not know what to do immediately, I was always reassured that I had passed the query to a safe pair of hands.

“Vicky will always find time for others, alongside her own workload, is so lovely to see. Added to this, it is always done with a smile. I feel lucky to have her as a Manager.

“Vicky deals with challenges quickly and efficiently and somehow manages to stay cheerful and upbeat throughout. Vicky is an inspirational leader.”

Jess Rothwell

Congratulations Jess on your making a difference award. Jess has taken it upon herself to be the Oakdale lead for student nurses and created a student pack, as well as other informative guidance for ward staff such as an easy to follow CQC guidance. As well as this, Jess is a great leader, remains calm on shifts and leads by example through complex situations that we have experienced on the ward. Jess always displays positivity and this allows staff to feel positive and empowered no matter how though shifts are. Jess is an asset to Oakdale and goes above and beyond to ensure staff morale on the ward is kept high despite all the management changes and complex situations.

May

Emma Edgar – Clinical Director LTUC

Emma is an inspirational leader. Her commitment to her role is second to none and she is demonstrably committed to improving patient care. Emma demonstrates top down leadership every single day and performs her role with openness, honesty and integrity. She is an inspiration to the nursing team at HDFT and demonstrates the trust values in all aspects of her work from clinician to leader. We should absolutely celebrate Emma more and promote her achievements to our nursing colleagues and the whole trust.

Janet Bako – Staff Nurse, Nidderdale ward

Janet was nominated by a patient who said Janet deserves recognition for her hard work and dedication to our care. She clearly is very committed to her work and manages to exceed expectation. She is a very kind and caring person and the care she delivers is absolutely person centred

Dr Rebecca Shaw – Clinical Teaching Fellow

Dr Shaw was nominated for being such an inspiration to the students she has taught this year. She has been very organised and has worked very hard to ensure that the teaching sessions are of the highest standard. She has taught several groups of students through the past year and the feedback has been consistently good. The students have especially highlighted how she has been very enthusiastic, approachable and made the sessions engaging. Other tutors have reported the improvement in students’ ability and how their confidence has grown and how they have been very engaged, enthusiastic and keen to learn as a result of Dr Shaw’s mentorship. Feedback from various students

Richard Hebblewhite

Congratulations Richard on your making a difference award. Richard is the definition of kind and teamwork. He has given our team a huge amount of help sorting out problems with our roster and he has gone over and above what was expected trying to help us. His proactive and responsive attitude towards problem solving has been a welcome breathe of fresh air.  He handles himself with upmost integrity and we’re lucky to have people such as Richard working with us at HDFT. A big thank you for all his help.

Mel Kavanagh

Congratulations Mel on your making a difference award. During times when demands have been great within occupational health, our colleague Mel pulled together a recent Wellbeing event in Durham singlehandedly. The organisation and preparation should have been a team effort but Mel knew her colleagues had no available capacity to assist and she put no pressure on anyone. Instead Mel organised all external guest speakers, food and beverages, 200 goodie bags, display boards with laminated posters, produced a number of handouts, floor planning , liaised with other teams in the Trust as well as locality managers across the patch to spread the word of the event and did much, much more. Mel is committed to employee wellbeing and driving this forward as a top priority within the workplace. Mel planned this event alongside her day job and helped where she could with project work within occupational health. She is very dynamic with a ‘can do’ attitude. We all admire her and with her commitment and shear hard work brings the whole team with her.

Angela Cousin – Early Years Practitioner, Gateshead 0-5

Angela was nominated by her colleague for always being there to offer support and advice. Angela is such a friendly approachable person and is always thinking of others. She’s an asset to the team and colleagues are very thankful for her listening ear. Angela’s extra efforts to work jointly with the team means we feel welcomed within the team and are able to carry out home visits which is so beneficial for our role. Angela goes over and above to be supportive.

Emma Chapman – Staff Nurse, Farndale Ward

Emma was nominated by a few of her colleagues who said Emma displays the trust values in every aspect of her work, she consistently displays a positive attitude and stays calm and supports colleagues through every situation that arises on the ward. Emma has displays exceptional care for her patients and her kindness shines through in everything she does. Emma works tirelessly to provide patients with the highest quality of care and deserves this recognition for all her hard work. . Emma has regular positive feedback from patients. She makes them feel safe and cared for. Feedback from multiple Doctors saying Emma is “worth her weight in gold”.

Verity Chessum – Lead Nurse for Learning and Professional Development

Verity was nominated for her exceptional leadership and dedication to the Team’s growth and success which has been invaluable. Verity’s incredible support, willingness to listen and provide guidance whenever needed, has been a great strength to the Practice Educator Team. Her approachable nature and understanding has helped the team navigate challenges and inspired them to strive for excellence in everything they do. Verity consistently go above and beyond to guide the team forward with a positive attitude.

Hayley Keeble – Family Health Practitioner, Central 0-19 North Yorkshire

Hayley was nominated after receiving some great feedback. Hayley was asked to undertake a visit to support a young service user and their parents around a health need. The parents of this young service user fed back that Hayley was really helpful, the work she provided was really supportive and this has made an enormous difference not only to the child but also in how the parents are able to cope. They found Hayley to be really approachable and knowledgeable and feel that Hayley has made a significant difference to their lives.

Hayley was open and honest around her current skills and reached out to the management team for support and clarification on other queries. By doing so, this allowed Hayley to be supported to deliver the necessary work to make a difference

Katie O’hara- Staff Nurse MDU Infusions

Katie was nominated by her colleague for her strong sense of teamwork, kindness, ability to stay calm and upholding the trust values. Katie goes above and beyond to be supportive every day to patients and colleagues and is a fantastic teammate to the whole unit.

Biju Varughese- Byland Ward Manager

Biju was nominated by a number of colleagues for being very professional and always greeting new starters on the ward with compassion and respect. He makes it a point to be personally present on the ward during the new starter’s first shift, despite the fact that it is his day off. He is open and adaptable to all new beginners and addresses their concerns appropriately. He also keeps the practice educators informed and updates them every month, holds weekly meetings and tells them that everything is well.

Furthermore, Biju has truly supported the International Nurses within his department and has played a vital role in the supporting and settling in of nurses on the OSCE programme. Biju comes to every on boarding event to meet his new nurses and talk to them about Byland and what they can expect. He participates in the ‘get to know you games’ and really helps to relieve any anxieties these nurses may have about starting their careers in HDFT on his ward. He is always positive about the Trust and the Nursing career and shows a real interest in getting to know them personally. He comes to the On Boarding events after his shift and gives up his own time. Lots of the WM’s have participated occasionally in this, but Biju does it every time. We hear so much positive feedback from the nurses once they start work on Byland too about the support and empowerment Biju continues to give them.

Kirsty Illingworth-Deighton- Admin Assistant Maternity, Maternity Staffing

Kirsty was nominated for going out of her way to help a mother outside the hospital with her young son and an 8 month old baby, the woman was struggling to cope and broke down in tears whilst trying to sort her son and baby out. Kirsty recognised this and offered the woman support, the woman was so grateful and posted on the trusts Facebook page to say a big thank you. Kirsty showed great kindness and integrity to this family, she is also a fabulous member of the team and who works really hard and always treats her colleagues with kindness and respect.

Helen Degnan- Specialist Nurse, Infection Control Community

Helen was nominated for the impact she has made in just a couple of months since joining the Community IPC team. Helen is brilliant at teaching and has brought with her new and exciting ways to teach, and make training more interactive. She is always enthusiastic, and is happy to help with any task. She is always looking for ways to improve the service. She has a lot of knowledge and is happy to share this with the team. Helen is a real asset to the Community IPC team, always wants to do her best, always professional and willing to learn and help others.

April

Harry Stephenson – IT Desktop Technician

Harry was nominated for all of the support and help he gives to Harrogate South and Harrogate North Community & Children’s Team, it can only be described as invaluable. Harrogate CCT have undergone significant changes where the teams have moved base within a limited time frame. Harry’s approach in supporting the staff through this change and transition in relation to IT, assisting with the move on the day has been phenomenal. Leading up to the move Harry gave outstanding support to all the staff, no matter how big or how small the issues were. He approached with a smile, calmly and sensitively towards the different skill set of individual with IT experience.
Our move to our new base went seamlessly with regards to IT and staff came into their new base with all the appropriate IT stations working and printers set up. Harry came into base the following day so he was on hand to support with any IT issues.

Jodie Lamb – Health Child Nurse, Childrens 0-19 Service, Middlesbrough

Jodie was nominated by a colleague who told us that she showed kindness and empathy towards a family throughout a particular visit and ensured she didn’t over panic the family at the initial stages. Jodie followed up with the family and made sure they were ok and that the child’s surgery went well. The Grandparents spoke to Jodie to tell her that “she had saved his life”. Jodie’s initiative and professional judgement is commendable.

Sharon Bilbrough- General Manager PSC and Sharon Ainley- Head of Income, commissioning and costings

Both colleagues were nominated in recognition of being key in the involvement at looking at how activity is coded and ensured the Trust is recognised for the activity it is delivering. They understood the impact of reviewing the coding and it has resulted in additional income which has supported the Trust financial position. This has been on top of existing daily tasks, they have shown dedication, determination, integrity and teamwork in looking at this. They are now working with wider teams to ensure this is captured correctly at source. They deserve a huge thanks as it’s made a huge impact to the overall financial and operational performance of the Trust.

Margaret Morton- Emotional Resilience Nurse and Faye Marlbrough-Early Intervention

Faye and Margaret were nominated after receiving some lovely feedback on how Faye and Margaret have helped her make positive choice and have different life outcomes. Following the interventions being completed the young person had healthy coping mechanisms to manage her emotions, she no longer participated in risk taking behaviours and made new friends. The relationship with family was improving and the young person now had a long term future goal of continuing in education. From the young person’s perspective her words are documented below ‘they never judged me for the things I felt or the way I chose to deal with all my emotions they helped me realise I was choosing the wrong way to overcome this and lead me down the right path. I don’t feel so alone in this world anymore.’ Both Maggie and Faye went above and beyond their roles to achieve a positive outcome for this young person.

Claire Broadbent- Staff Nurse and Faye Adamson- Ward Clerk, Same Day Emergency Care

Claire was in Ripon Town Centre when she witnessed a gentleman having a cardiac arrest. She provided CPR independently, until an ambulance arrived. At the same time she communicated with concerned bystanders calmly and efficiently while also ensuring help was on the way. She has since been informed by paramedics that the patient later regained ROSC and was taken to James Cook Hospital for treatment. It seems very likely that if Claire had not been present and provided CPR then the chances of a successful outcome would have been significantly reduced. Claire is an incredibly kind and considerate person, despite experiencing this traumatic event herself her main concern has always been the wellbeing of the gentleman she helped, I feel she should receive the recognition she deserves for her quick and expert action while outside of work which will likely have had life-changing effects. Claire shows nothing but kindness and respect to her patients and colleagues every day. From her actions she has demonstrated that these behaviours extend beyond the work environment and is an excellent example of all the trusts values in practice.

Fiona was nominated for being a huge support to all members of the team and has even come in on days off and stayed late to support staff with the change of the system. Fiona is the go to person with any problems and she will actively find solutions and support staff to overcome the issues, she is adaptable and consistently goes above and beyond. Fiona is caring, kind, patient and upholds the KITE values in all she does. We feel that Fiona deserves recognition for the hard work that she has put in to supporting the whole team and the ideas she has brought forward in light of the changes in SDEC, she has made the process of changing IT systems so much easier and we are so thankful that she is part of our team.

Sarah Massiter- General Manager Community & Children’s and Katherine Richards- Administration Assistant, Stockton Management Team

Sarah and Katherine were nominated for going over and above to support their colleague with regular check ins and excelled in showing kindness. Their colleague never felt pressured to return to work, and was encouraged to fully recover rather than rush back too soon. The colleague believes that because of the kindness, equality, integrity and teamwork that Sarah and Katherine showed it helped aide their recovery and return to work quicker.

Paul Langley – Patients Systems Specialist

Paul was nominated for going above and beyond to support a service user. Paul offered to be on call to make the relevant changes at the point they were required, including over his period of annual Leave. While there was no requirement to inform the patient of all the steps in achieving her request, Paul’s input truly did Make a Difference- for both her and the staff providing her care.

Sandeep Sabu – Staff Nurse, Endoscopy

Sandeep was nominated in recognition of his hardworking nature and somehow who exemplifies the trust values. Sandeep is often the last person to say behind when lists run over and does this with a smile and positive attitude. Sandeep is a pleasure to work with and his expertise and confidence is growing.

Simon Brazier – Interim Wensleydale Matron and Clinical Site Manager and Rachael Dealhoy – Ward manager Wensleydale Ward

Simon was nominated for the work in assisting with the move of Bolton ward to Wensleydale. Simon has supported the team on Wensleydale as they adapt to the new technologies and environment, ensuring staff are reassured using new devices and systems. All this has been done whilst he has cared for a colleague in their last days of life. Simon is a true example of the trusts kindness and Team values, always thinking of and supporting others in their work to ensure staff can provide the best care in a safe environment.

Alice Taylor – Practice Educator, Corporate Nursing, Linda Lowrey – Learning and Professional Development Facilitator and Verity Chessum –  Lead Nurse for Learning and Professional Development

Alice was nominated for the work she has been doing on developing a training package that is gold standard and supports the Trust nurses to understand everything they need to do to deliver safe care to patients when administering IV medications, or caring for PICC lines. Alice has adapted the training to bridge the theory to practice gap, by not only training in the classroom, but she goes to the wards and departments to assist with competency sign off and gets to support the nurses to follow the gold standard care in practice. Feedback from managers and nurses is always grateful and they have reported a difference in the amount of nurses now trained and feeling confident in giving care to patients.

Linda and Verity were nominated for the outstanding support they give to their team and their ‘how can we help’ attitude is very much appreciated. The team feel supported in all aspects and empowered to do their work to the best of their ability. Linda and Verity consistently uphold the trust values and are role models of the trust.

Tammy Smith – Patient Pathway Support, Medical Records, PSC

Tammy was nominated for going above and beyond to support the team during some very difficult times. Tammy has supported colleagues with training and helped with new ways of working. Tammy has taken the time to ensure all the teams knew what they were doing and offered more support whenever needed. Tammy has taken on all additional requests with a smile and a ‘happy to help’ attitude. She has been a super star and a pleasure for all to work with.

Clare Collins – Business Support Officer, Management Team PSC

Clare was nominated for going above and beyond to be a supportive, kind and caring line manager. Clare always makes time to check on the welfare of her team and make us her priority and will always go the extra mile. Clare is great to work with, she is fun, and always happy and smiling. Clare has provided such kindness and support both on a managerial level and personal. Clare is so approachable and we have really appreciated that this past year, she has been a breath of fresh air to work with.

Clare Hudson- Senior Palliative Care Nurse, Palliative Care- Nursing.

Clare was nominated after receiving some lovely feedback from a family which said Clare has been in attendance for my husband’s medical needs for two years. Clare’s kindness and supportive intervention in helping us both throughout this time has been invaluable. Clare’s wonderful knowledge and approach in the last stages of his life, dealing with his illness meant I had so many more months with my husband. Words will never be enough, thank you.

Jan Porter- Specialist Radiographer and Julie Byers – Radiographer, Radiology Department

Jan and Julie were both nominated for going above and beyond the radiographer role to get the x-ray department at Ripon ready for its refurb to a CDC. They have both looked after patients in a challenging working environment and continued to provide excellent patient care, they have liaised with the building team doing work in close proximity as well as clearing out the x-ray department to allow for an easier move. Jan and Julie are continuing to provide an x-ray service to the patients of Ripon and the surrounding areas from a very cramped space using a mobile x-ray machine until the new equipment is fitted. Both have shown patience and resilience as well as determination to keep the x-ray service running at Ripon during these building works.

Alison Smith, Clinical Support Worker, Dermatology Specialist Nursing

Alison was nominated for always being so lovely and kind to patients and above all always putting patients at ease by having such calm and friendly demeanour.

Heidi Jolly – Health Visitor, Central 0-19 North Yorkshire

Heidi was nominated by family who are incredibly grateful for all the help and support they received from Heidi. Heidi was wonderful and answered numerous questions with patience and compassion.

James Knapp – Screening Co-ordinator Emotional Health

James was nominated after receiving some great feedback which said: James is fantastic asset to your team, he listened so well, gauged absolutely correctly the situation and demonstrated clear evidence based knowledge and experience that shone through in our conversations. James was warm, kind compassionate and really took the time which I am really grateful for. A feeling of relief that I have been heard, validated and supported and was able to seek guidance and advice without judgement. James you have made a huge difference!

Kate Bartokova –Administration Assistant, Specialist Children’s Management & Admin.

Kate was nominated for always going above on beyond in her job role and taking on any task given to her. Kate has recently covered in a role not known to her and has been doing amazing at it. Kate is always helping others with a smile and is a delight to work with. Feedback has always been so positive from therapists’ consultants and parents.

Joice Thomas – Nagoli- Sister/Charge Nurse, Oakdale ward

Joice was nominated for being an excellent leader on the ward and is regarded very highly by all members of MDT and other colleagues. Particularly, several international nursing colleagues have fed-back about how supportive and helpful Joice has been in their adaptation of new roles on Oakdale. Joice is extremely kind and compassionate towards all her patients. Joice has independently sourced further training from the oncology team to improve our patient care on Oakdale.

Second nomination: Joice is an incredibly hard working, welcoming, and truly made for the role she is in. She goes above and beyond for patients and staff. Joice manages a stressful and busy ward environment and is a beacon of calm and light in those difficult moments. She cares about everyone around her, making sure they feel comfortable, supported and safe.

Additional feedback from a colleague: Joice handled a difficult situation with remarkable composure, which greatly reassured everyone involved. Joice’s exceptional nursing skills and leadership qualities truly make her an invaluable asset to our team.

March

Dr Chris Philbey- Consultant Physician in Diabetes and Endocrinology

Chris was nominated by a patient who said that they would like to nominate Dr Philbey for his kind words and over and above attitude during the call. He even explained to me future expectations of monitoring. He was extremely kind and reassuring over and above anything l have ever experienced. Please can you hang on to this good egg! He deserves a pat on the back for his way he is with patients…he is exceptional.

Vicky Hilton-Green – Clinical Coding Manager, Coding Clerks.

Vicky was nominated for taking on a crucial piece of work for the Trust to maximise performance and income, against a pressured timescale. Vicky has taken on an active role and pushed the work forward, going above and beyond to do so. The results of this work is of great benefit to the Trust. No request has been too great, despite the pressured timescales. Vicky has shown the breadth of knowledge and expertise in her role and has engaged cheerfully and professionally. Thank you so much for making a difficult task much more achievable.

Jo Barik – Health Visitor, Central 0-19 North Yorkshire

Jo was nominated on behalf of a patient who said that Jo has been amazing, supportive and made the patient feel safe. Jo went over and above to ensure that the family were supported and were able to move forward.

Helen Siewruk-Barnes – General Manager, Long Term and Unscheduled Care

Helen was nominated for supporting her colleague. Helen’s supportive nature, proactive assistance, and commitment to creating a supportive environment helped this individual. Helen went above and beyond showing genuine compassion and empathy to ensure her colleague was able to get the support and help they required. Helen’s behaviour exemplifies the HDFT KITE values.

Neil Thompson – Care Support Work, Granby Ward

Neil was nominated after receiving lovely feedback from a relative of a patient who had observed his actions. Neil was fully aware of the needs of all the patients and he attended them with great care, respect and efficiency. Although I told him he was a firm favourite with my dad, he wouldn’t accept the praise alone. Neil went above and beyond his role as carer and is a true role model. We gratefully thank you Neil!

Dr Rachel Phillips – Lead clinical Psychologist, Psychology Services, Community and Children’s

Dr Phillips (bottom middle) was nominated for the work she does in supporting patients,  the cancer service, psychology team and the wider Trust. Recognising Rachel’s kindness, willingness to support others and going above and beyond in the work she does as well as her moral integrity.

Dr Sachin Thakur – Consultant, Acute Medicine, Same Day Emergency Care

Dr Thakur was nominated by a colleague for the support he has given to another colleague. Dr Thakur went above and beyond showing genuine compassion and empathy. Sachin’s behaviour exemplifies the HDFT KITE values and the team are so lucky to have Dr Thakur as part of their leadership group.

Christina Simon- Specialist Practitioner, Day Surgery Unit

Christina was nominated for supporting her colleagues with daily ward work and with their development and training needs. Christina is currently leading a cost improvement project in the ward area, this will have a significant saving for the department and the trust. Christina and another colleague have engaged with the team around communication and have developed a weekly/biweekly e-mail to the ward team, this was in response to staff feeling bombarded with e-mails. They have also developed a ward communication board with a weekly hot topic. Christina always adheres to the trust values and is a valued member of the team.

Sonia Stephenson – Patient Systems Operational Manager

Sonia was nominated for undertaking a complex and timely piece of work to review activity and work with software suppliers. This has been a crucial piece of work for the Trust to maximise performance and income, against a pressured timescale. Sonia has taken an active role and pushed the work forward, going above and beyond to do so. The results of this work is of great benefit to the Trust. Sonia has demonstrated kindness,  shown a breadth of knowledge and expertise and engaged cheerfully and professionally.

Sarah Whitaker- Advanced physiotherapist, Respiratory Acute Therapy.

Sarah was nominated by a patient who said I would like to express my general observations about the very positive work standard which was introduced by the (BHF) course implementer Sarah Whitaker, Advanced Physiotherapist. Given this 4 year suspension of the course a detailed fitness plan had to be constructed.  This being broadly based on the outdated plan generally available from the School of Physiotherapists.  This included detailed notes and visual diagrams given to patients so that additional work could be done at home and then continued after leaving the course. The quality of this work was, in my opinion, well beyond the call of duty!

Lizzie Hull – E-rostering Admin Assistant, Corporate Services

Lizzie was nominated by a colleague who said Lizzie offered me support and came to my department to sit with me and helped me understand the Roster system, she was kind, patient and helpful and she went the extra mile to assist me. Lizzie is friendly and reassuring!

Harry Stephenson – IT Desktop Technician, Information Technology

Harry was nominated by their colleague (Sophie) who said Harry is just fantastic! He has to put up with so much with the District Nursing team, locked passwords and laptops not working right and he never gets frustrated. Harry is always polite and kind to every team member, he is very professional and personable, a true asset to the trust!  Harry always brings a calming nature to stressful situations, he doesn’t judge and he helps through pure kindness and goes over and above to make sure everyone is okay and nothing is too much trouble. He is just fab!. Thank you Harry!

February

Sharon Davies – Advanced Clinical Practitioner

Sharon was nominated for going above and beyond. Sharon is dedicated and often works beyond working hours. She shows compassion to enable patients to be discharged to the place of their choice and are very supportive towards families. Sharon is an all-round great team member!

Angela Haddington- Pharmacy Store Manager

Angie was nominated by her colleague for being  is such a good team leader and tutor at the pharmacy store. Angela always has the answer when you ask her and is very approachable in any way whether she doing something, counting, booking in, picking medication, or even just walking in the corridor. She always has a beautiful smile every time I start my shift and asks how I am. Angela looks after us like her own not just her staff, she is amazing to work with. She is one of a kind that HDFT is lucky to have.

Cynthia Magorimbo- Care Support Worker, Lascelles.

Cynthia was nominated for always taking the time to get to know her patients and making them feel at ease. Cynthia delivers excellent quality care to all the patients while treating them with dignity and respect. Cynthia is exceedingly kind, hardworking and a phenomenal support to the team.

Allison Lee- Family Health Practitioner (middle) North Yorkshire Health & Resilience and Cheryl Evans, Family Health Practitioner (bottom right) North Yorkshire Health & Resilience
Allison and Cheryl were both nominated after receiving some great parent feedback. Allison and Cheryl have made such a difference to a family they have been working with, being amazing on calls and doing their best to coordinate services, signpost and being truly client centred.

Dr Lamis Abdelaziz – Ophthalmology Doctor
Dr Abdelaziz is extremely kind and caring, she is a good listener and very helpful towards the staff and patients. Lamis always prioritises her patients and goes above & beyond. On top of her clinic when she is on call, especially on Fridays she sees a minimum of 5-6 patients extra and on Saturdays minimum of 4-5 patients. Lamis is approachable and always there to help when the service needs urgent cover.

Trudy Hoyle – Audio Typist, Admin Service Trauma and Orthopaedics
Trudy has stepped in to help the ENT department during a period of short staffing. Trudy has been invaluable to the team, helping to keep the ENT office running efficiently whilst balancing her own work in T&O. Trudy is a perfect example of Trust values, always being there to help out wherever there is a need with a fantastic eye for detail, making sure nothing is ever missed. Trudy can always be relied upon to step up whenever and wherever there is a need in our directorate and always gives one hundred percent.

Natalie Blyde- Directorate Recruitment Co-ordinator, Management Team PSC
Natalie has been chosen to receive a kindness award for being a wonderful addition to the management team helping to bridge the gaps with the Recruitment department. Natalie displays kindness and innovation every day and is always happy to help and support colleagues with any recruitment challenges. Natalie designed a welcome pack for new starters joining the planned and surgical teams, this welcome pack was a success has been highly praised by the recruitment department, so much so that Natalie was asked to design a welcome pack for all new starters joining our trust not just PSC. Natalie has also been vital in the recent successful Care Support Worker recruitment days, she has worked tirelessly organising venues, interviews, keeping in touch with applicants and truly believe that Natalie’s kindness and personal touches have made all the difference.

Kerry Hixon – ENT Secretary, Admin Services – Head and Neck

Kerry has been covering the ENT Office during a period of short staffing and has taken on the role of organising the office and keeping the place running efficiently and without any complaints. Kerry is always polite and so helpful with both patients and fellow colleagues. Kerry is a credit to the hospital, especially during the hard times.

David Hurst – Day Surgery Unit Practitioner

David helped the scrub team with a busy list, he offered to help open trays and sterile items in order to ensure a quick patient turnaround and relieve the pressure of a busy list and support the scrub team. David always makes sure that staff feel listened to and supported, and always has time to teach others new skills and be a support to members of the team.

Hannah Bousfield, Locality Manager, Gateshead Management Team

I started working for the trust in January 2023 and Hannah Bousfield has been a very supportive manager. She is respectful, compassionate and efficient. She is approachable and makes me feel a very valued team member
When allocating to my caseload this is always done with honesty and transparency to ensure equal workload within the team. When I contribute to the team Hannah does not treat me like the “new member of staff” but instead honours my clinical experience and knowledge and treats me equal to my colleagues which is very much appreciated and keeps me enthusiastic to contribute.

Nominator added:
I would just like to add that no matter how busy she is she always has a smile and a listening ear! She gives staff the impression that nothing is too much trouble and will sort problems out herself in a timely manner. She is very much appreciated by her team and I think she deserves to receive praise for her work ethic.

January

Clare Watson – Family Health Practitioner, North Yorkshire Emotional Health & Resilience

Clare was nominated for demonstrating in depth respect when dealing with a call from a concerned grandmother. Clare was incredibly open minded about the concerns she was discussing. She was exceedingly kind and let the grandmother speak freely and acted you professionally. She was noticeably clear in her actions put in some basic safety netting by asking her to call her son and tell him to get home ASAP. She was told to ring the GP and if she had escalating concerns to ring 999 for an ambulance and the police. Clare spoke to her colleague who arranged to meet at the property with the father. Clare thoughtfully reviewed her colleagues calendar and cancelled and rebooked any remaining visits for the day. Clare went gone above and beyond displaying all of the trust values and really made a difference to this whole family.

Josh Wilson- WHSmith Assistant

Josh was nominated for always going above and beyond to be kind and helpful. Josh takes the time with everyone in the shop to ask how they are and how their day has been. Josh is one of the first and last people patients, families  and staff will meet and his lasting impression really does make a difference. Thank you for proving such a personal caring service to all.

Karen King – Deputy Teams Lead for Children’s Outpatients

Karen was nominated by her colleague for her dedication to making the perfect vaccine bubble and Karen’s energy to continually review the service and strive to improve uptake, outcomes and data collection. Karen’s kindness is her superpower and is often the first port of call for a supportive, professional and fair response.

Emily Legge- Chief Pharmacy Technician, Brooke Donkersley- Lead Pharmacy Technician, Katie Savage- Lead Pharmacy Technician and Sara Moore – Deputy Director of Pharmacy and Clinical Pharmacy Services Manager

Emily, Brooke, and Katie were nominated for the vital role they play in supporting their colleague deliver controlled drugs to the community. They are an incredible help and support and You are a huge asset and credit to the trust!

Sara was nominated for being approachable and demonstrating a clear understanding of the needs for reasonable adjustments in a recent situation. Sara went above and beyond to support a family in need which is a testament to her patient focussed approach. Well Deserved!

Ian Juden – Rota Co-ordinator, Management Team LTUC

Ian has been chosen to receive kindness award for making a great difference in LTUC junior doctor rota management. Ian has made significant changes in improving the relationship between rota coordinators and the medical teams which is palpable. Ian’s proactive, friendly, empathetic approach which is hands on is appreciated by all. Ian consistently acts with kindness and empathy when problem solving- this has had significant impact for all who have the chance to work with him, even in times of difficulty and stress he is able to use humour effectively which is appreciated.

Second  Nomination on behalf of medical junior doctors

Ian works incredibly hard to ensure wards are well staffed in crisis, listens to problems we are facing and goes above and beyond to accommodate leave requests. Come rain or shine, Ian shows up with an infectious enthusiasm and a genuine care for the wellbeing of both staff and patients.

Third Nomination

Ian is personable, really easy to contact and is proactive in identifying issues and chatting to everyone on his morning round of the wards. Ian is an asset to HDFT and makes the hospital a better place to work.

Carol Brown – Ward Clerk, Acute Frailty Unit

Carol was nominated for being a role model of teamwork and kindness! Carol has been an outstanding member of the Acute Frailty Unit Team, she is always approachable and willing to go out of her way to help, no job is ever too much for her. Carol is cheerful and goes above and beyond for everyone

Shona Kettlewell – Strategy Nurse, North Yorkshire Specialist Safeguarding

Shona was nominated having gone above and beyond displaying all of the trust values and having really made a difference to the family she was helping. Shona was very thorough and acted professionally in the situation being impartial and open minded with the information she shared. Shona ensured the baby was the paramount focus and their safety was the priority. Shona also stayed later than her working hours to ensure the appropriate safety netting and plans were in place. Shona, you have made the rest of your team very proud!

Bernice Mpholle – Staff Nurse, Brian Drummond – Staff Nurse, Debra Coats- Staff Nurse and Howard Richardson- Staff Nurse, Endoscopy Department.

Bernice, Brian, Debra and Howard have embraced the implementation of a new service called EBUS with positivity and enthusiasm. They have shown dedication to learn and implement a new procedure ensuring patient safety and experience is at the heart. They have gone above and beyond to not only learn a new skill in a different hospital but they have taken on board the safety elements by assisting with writing the SOP, and the patient information leaflets for this procedure. All four staff members have represented the Trust while learning this procedure at York Hospital and have been recognised by the York Team for their enthusiasm and commitment and for being excellent representatives of HDFT. It is for these reasons they have been chosen to receive a Making a Difference Kindness Award.

Clare Gothard- Community Registered Nurse, Harrogate North

Clare recently visited a palliative patient where an unpredictable and sensitive situation occurred. Clare dealt with the situation compassionately, ensuring the patient was comfortable and cared for with dignity. Clare was calm and supportive to the patient and family by putting them at ease. Clare is always the first to offer help whether that is taking extra shifts, supporting students, colleagues or doing extra hours or shifts at short notice in order that the service is covered.

Maria Kumar – Staff Nurse, Byland Ward

Maria was nominated by their colleague who said Maria is an outstanding nurse from the patient care she delivers, her kindness and interaction with others. Maria attended pressure ulcer prevention and management training, she really took it all on board and this was demonstrated when I attended a ward she was covering on. A patient who required repositioning from right to left, as to avoid excess pressure on an ulcer, was positioned perfectly using a 30 degree tilt with 5 pillows fanned out around their body. The patient was comfortable and told me she really took care of her. Maria encompasses all core values the Trust needs in Nurses; Kindness, Integrity, Teamwork and Equality, Goes ‘above and beyond and Makes a difference. Great work Maria!

Shona Kettlewell – Strategy Nurse, North Yorkshire Specialist Safeguarding
Shona was nominated having gone above and beyond displaying all of the trust values and having really made a difference to the family she was helping. Shona was very thorough and acted professionally in the situation being impartial and open minded with the information she shared. Shona ensured the baby was the paramount focus and their safety was the priority. Shona also stayed later than her working hours to ensure the appropriate safety netting and plans were in place. Shona, you have made the rest of your team very proud!

Bernice Mpholle – Staff Nurse, Brian Drummond – Staff Nurse, Debra Coats- Staff Nurse and Howard Richardson- Staff Nurse, Endoscopy Department.
Bernice, Brian, Debra and Howard have embraced the implementation of a new service called EBUS with positivity and enthusiasm. They have shown dedication to learn and implement a new procedure ensuring patient safety and experience is at the heart. They have gone above and beyond to not only learn a new skill in a different hospital but they have taken on board the safety elements by assisting with writing the SOP, and the patient information leaflets for this procedure. All four staff members have represented the Trust while learning this procedure at York Hospital and have been recognised by the York Team for their enthusiasm and commitment and for being excellent representatives of HDFT. It is for these reasons they have been chosen to receive a Making a Difference Kindness Award.

Clare Gothard- Community Registered Nurse, Harrogate North
Clare recently visited a palliative patient where an unpredictable and sensitive situation occurred. Clare dealt with the situation compassionately, ensuring the patient was comfortable and cared for with dignity. Clare was calm and supportive to the patient and family by putting them at ease. Clare is always the first to offer help whether that is taking extra shifts, supporting students, colleagues or doing extra hours or shifts at short notice in order that the service is covered.

Maria Kumar – Staff Nurse, Byland Ward
Maria was nominated by their colleague who said Maria is an outstanding nurse from the patient care she delivers, her kindness and interaction with others. Maria attended pressure ulcer prevention and management training, she really took it all on board and this was demonstrated when I attended a ward she was covering on. A patient who required repositioning from right to left, as to avoid excess pressure on an ulcer, was positioned perfectly using a 30 degree tilt with 5 pillows fanned out around their body. The patient was comfortable and told me she really took care of her. Maria encompasses all core values the Trust needs in Nurses; Kindness, Integrity, Teamwork and Equality, Goes ‘above and beyond and Makes a difference. Great work Maria!

Manoj – Locum Consultant Urology, Urology Medical Staffing
Mr Manoj was nominated by their colleague who said Mr Manoj came one day to assist one of his colleagues in theatre while on annual leave. He came with a smile, kindness and really made a difference to that patient. It was a complex case, and it would have been atrocious cancelling/abandon case. He really made a difference to the patient and everyone in the team were very pleased to complete the surgery.
Manoj is a very kind person, professional with his work, always smiling, eager to help his colleagues. He didn’t have to come in on his annual leave, however he didn’t doubt to come in when his colleague asked for help.

Fiona Fenwick – Health Visitor, Gateshead 0-5 and Gill Reed – Health Visitor, Gateshead 0-5Fiona and Gill have been chosen to receive a KINDNESS award for going above and beyond in supporting students. Fiona and Gill will check in, support and champion students, providing both practice and academic support, which creates a supportive environment for students within Gateshead. At the end of the day both Fiona and Gill ensure that the students are comfortable with what they have seen and experienced and are not going home worried. Fiona and Gill both share expertise and knowledge with students, ensuring a wide range of skills and opportunities are delivered in clinical practice. They both demonstrate kindness to the highest level, and without their kindness completing SCPHN training would have at times felt impossible.

Sue Slater – Senior Care Support Worker, Elmwood Outpatients

Sue is dedicated, hardworking, extremely organised and committed to constantly learning and developing best practices for managing routine activities in an efficient and effective manner. Sue is always there to lend a helping hand to members of staff and patients. Sue is a huge asset to the department and will always go the extra mile!

Joe Langthorne, System Development Accountant, Financial Planning Management

Joe has embedded himself with the whole Finance Team, he has built excellent relationships with every team within Finance. He has a can do attitude and will happily assist the wider organisation with any struggles. He has recently taken on the lead for the implementation of REACH which has improved visibility and access of budget information across the organisation. Joe demonstrates the Trust values in everything he does and embraces any opportunity to support developments across the team. Joe also hosted our annual Finance Christmas celebrations, which the team thoroughly appreciated.