Staff supporting the COVID-19 response among those to be honoured at OSCARS awards ceremony
Staff and volunteers from across NHS mental health and community healthcare services will be honoured at Nottinghamshire Healthcare’s Outstanding Service Contribution and Recognition Scheme (OSCARS) awards on 10 June.
The OSCARS recognise and reward people who have gone the extra mile to deliver high quality healthcare services across the City and County. The nominees this year include a number of teams and individuals who took on challenging new roles to deliver the local response to COVID-19, supporting staff, patients and local communities.
Nominations are made by staff, patients, service users and carers across 10 award categories including unsung hero, volunteer, outstanding care and compassion, quality improvement, environmental impact and lifetime achievement.
Andrea Dunk (pictured) from Retford, answered the call for help by moving from her chaplaincy team role at Rampton Hospital to become Forensic Division PPE Coordinator. She has been nominated for Unsung Hero – Non Clinical and her nominator says she has been ‘phenomenal’, coordinating a network of supply for hundreds of thousands of pieces of personal protective equipment (PPE).
Andrea comments: “I originally just helped the team out for a couple of days as I had experience of working with spreadsheets during my time in therapies and education, but I’ve never gone back! It’s been challenging but I have enjoyed doing different things and speaking to different people. This new role really has broadened my scope.”
Her nominator added: “Most people won’t know where the PPE comes from or appreciate the amount of work it takes to design the supply chain and administrate it week in, week out. We couldn’t have got through this last year without Andrea’s support, motivation and smile.”
Andrea added: “I’ve been in this role for more than a year now and have enjoyed the challenge and working with the wider PPE team. It was so lovely to hear about my nomination and I feel it’s a recognition of the work of the whole team and how we have rolled with the times.”
Other nominations recognising work specifically related to the COVID-19 response included:
- James Seaton, Technical Support Assistant – who worked in the Hardware Collection Centre to ensure staff had access to laptops, mobiles and other IT equipment to enable them to continue working (nominated for Unsung Hero – non-clinical)
- Anthony Webster, Assistant Psychologist, Forensic Services, Rampton Hospital – who supported staff on Rampton Hospital National Learning Disability Service’s first COVID-positive, full isolation ward in March 2020. His protocol provided the foundation for all subsequent COVID-positive ward psychological support within Rampton (nominated for Unsung Hero – Clinical)
- Elizabeth Archer, Mental Health Services for Older People (MHSOP) Dietitian – who was an integral part of the patient care team and her early intervention is likely to have improved patient outcomes (nominated for Unsung Hero – Clinical)
- Corporate services; COVID Response Team; and Procurement Team – who all worked above and beyond to deliver the central COVID-19 response and to ensure teams across the Trust had the support and resources they needed to continue providing the best possible care for our patients and local communities (all nominated for Team of the Year – Non Clinical)
- COVID Isolation Unit, MHSOP (nominated for Team of the Year – Clinical)
- Richard Johnson, Inpatient Service, MHSOP – who worked with Ward Managers and others to create a six-bedded COVID unit and two isolation areas at Highbury and Bassetlaw Hospital (nominated in Leadership category)
- Telephone Befriending Scheme – set up to support some of our most vulnerable clients over the Christmas and New Year period. (nominated in Volunteer of the Year category)
John Brewin, Chief Executive said: “We’re incredibly proud of the achievements of all our colleagues this year – both those who took on new responsibilities to deliver the COVID-19 response and those who kept our everyday services up and running, continuing to provide the best patient care. We hope all the nominees are equally proud of their outstanding achievements.”
The OSCARS is now in its 18th year and winners will be announced in a virtual ceremony on 10 June.
To see the full list of shortlisted nominees visit www.nottinghamshirehealthcare.nhs.uk/oscars
