The pandemic has been the most challenging event for the NHS, and staff at every level have gone above and beyond to respond to COVID-19 in remarkable ways. Our Wall of Thanks is a token of our appreciation to not only our staff, but also our volunteers and carers whose continued work and dedication to care for loved ones should be recognised.
We also want to thank our patients and service users who have play their part in ensuring our services continue to be safe by adhering to restrictions put upon us all during these challenging times.
I would like to give a big thank you to all our NHS colleagues, working tirelessly to care for all people in need, I am always inspired by your commitment to making a difference in these unprecedented and challenging times. You are noticed and you are SO appreciated. Thank you so much for your bravery, your sacrifices, and your unflagging compassion.
Joanna Rapson
Volunteering & Befriending Lead
I would like to share my appreciation for my colleagues working In adult mental health showing strength, resilience and all working together to provide excellent care to Service uses and their loved ones. I would like to give a mention to the Early Interventions Team who show so much passion and commitment ,led by Emma Robinson and Stephen Liard who won’t accept the praise but very much deserve it. Lastly, the Family interventions Team and City Carer support Service who have adapted to new ways of working and show so much kindness and empathy to Carers and families who need this focus support now more than ever.
I am so proud to work alongside such wonderful, caring and supportive people.
Kelly Simpson
Service Manager for Early Interventions and Psychosis & Family Interventions Team
Mental Health Unit, Bassetlaw Hospital
Horizon day assessment and treatment unit has stayed open during the pandemic and continued to support the most vulnerable people with intellectual disabilities through a scary and frightening time for all. We have laughed and cried together and I just want to say a massive thank you to an amazing team I am so proud of all we do and I am so proud to be your manager.
Mel Keily
Team Leader Horizon Day Assessment and Treatment Unit
Just wanted to say a big thank you to all the Early Intervention Psychosis (EIP) staff that work both across North Nottingham and South Nottingham. We have recognised that working during the pandemic has been very challenging for everyone, but your dedication, commitment and passion has been outstanding.
We have received some excellent feedback from carers and patients about all the outstanding work that is happening. The EIP service is still in its infancy in terms of being a stand-alone team and you have worked through the challenges of working in a service that is not fully established as well as the pandemic.
We have national standards that we have to meet and there has been a lot of pressure around the physical healthcare standard. We would like to recognise all of the hard work of our physical healthcare leads and thank them and our health improvement worker colleagues for helping us achieve this target.
Well done to everyone in EIP and our supporting community team colleagues.
Emma Robinson and Stephen Laird
EIP Managers, South and North EIP
Amber ward team has faced a change in management, outbreaks and managing acute dementia patients during a global pandemic. This has been an incredibly difficult period and at times I have no doubt the team felt exhausted. Yet despite this since coming into post in January I have seen a team establish clear foundations built on an open staff culture, drive to improve patient care, and fully embody empathetic treatment of our patients. Even now we are currently experiencing a high acuity of patient care, yet the team choose to galvanise and face this challenge head on together.
I personally cannot thank each individual enough for their constant effort in building a caring culture for each other and patients over the last 6 months, especially when facing the extreme challenges that have come their way.
Peter Ansell
Amber Ward Manager
I would like to send a special thank you to my team, including a staff member who has now moved on. Working in deaf services meant that we had to make extra adjustments during Covid19 restrictions to ensure that our service users were supported face to face. While technology has been fantastic, at times it did not work, so we made efforts to see people more regularly and at their homes or in an outside space. It has not been easy for deaf people due to masks and reduced social contacts that were already limited.
Lucy Gilbert
Team Manager Deaf Service
Stonebridge Centre
I would like to recognise and say a Big Thank you to everyone in the vaccination teams who have enabled our learning disability patients to have a vaccination as a Primary Care Liaison Nurse (PCLN) working with colleagues from the vaccination team to support people with learning disabilities to have their vaccinations in the community.
Along with support from Intellectual and Development Disabilities colleagues, easy read materials have been developed to support patient understanding by the Speech and Language Therapy Team and individual plans have been developed with reasonable adjustments put in place to support patients to have a person centred approach to having a vaccination in the least restrictive way possible. Planning and working with colleagues from across both primary and secondary care has enabled this to happen.
From meeting patients and families and understanding their personal needs and using either the vaccination centres, home vaccination teams, roving teams, GP practices and the bus have all been explored to find the best way to vaccinate a vulnerable patient group who often have anxiety and phobias around needles.
A recent case I want to share was not possible without the flexibility time and patience of all involved. My patient lives with family and has never had a vaccination ever and has limited capacity around understanding the need for a vaccination. In his best interests with support from those who know him best a number of options were considered involving the PCLN Team and in consultation with the IDD Covid support colleagues and the Vaccination Team lead and GP who supported the plan. With a plan in place the team were able to vaccinate the patient at a time that was suitable, at a venue that was safe and with the preparations in place and use of a vehicle, and the patient had the vaccination without any distress. The family were overjoyed and are already planning for the day when they can travel again on a plane. The plan is the second vaccination which will take place in 8 weeks’ time with the same plan in place.
This is one example where a lot of people from different areas have worked together to plan and enable someone to be vaccinated that otherwise family feel would not have happened.
Initially the family feared it would not happen but I am pleased to say were proven wrong.
We have a number of similar scenarios that I could have shared around the good practice and NHS staff working together across different areas to support patients in the community who are the most vulnerable. The joy from their loved ones is all worth it.
Thank you NHS!
I especially want to say a big thank you to Simon and Jess (You know who you are!!)
Marie McGahey
Primary Care Liaison Nurse Team Leader (IDD)
Covering Newark & Sherwood
Team leader for Acute Liaison Nurses QMC
Newark Health Centre
I want to acknowledge the hard work and dedication of all the inpatient managers, rehab managers and modern matrons in adult mental health. It has been more than a challenging year for them. The challenges continue with huge demands on our service and they continue to focus on getting the best care for our patients and supporting staff. The way the have supported each other and their teams has gone above and beyond. The only way I can describe them are that they are super-heroes.
A BIG thankyou to you all.
Deborah Thompson (RGN/RMN)
Head of Nursing Adult Mental Health Services/Physical Healthcare Lead
Highbury Hospital
Rosemary Miller who is a Technical instructor in my MSK Physiotherapy team has worked for the NHS for (I think) 40+ years.
Over the last year she has overcome some exceptionally difficult and sad personal circumstances, and has still worked her hardest with and for our team to prove herself indispensable.
She was one of the first members of our team to come back in following remote working, she has been crucial in helping us get back to face to face appointments, has kept our Mansfield clinic safe and running by bringing over PPE. She is a wonderful and valuable member of our team and deserves huge recognition for all that she does.
Marie Walsh
Senior MSK Physiotherapist
In summer of 2020 I had just had my first baby. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, there were none of the usual groups or mother/baby classes running, which also meant that I didn't have the opportunity to meet other new parents for company and mutual support. My Health Visitor contacted me to invite me to join a small group of new mums and their babies for a weekly socially-distanced walk, which would be within the guidance that was in place at the time. It was really lovely to have the chance to chat with others in a similar situation to me, and at the end of the first walk we set up a Whatsapp group so that the mums could stay in touch between weekly walks.
After a few weeks the group was becoming well established, the Health Visitors stepped back from attending so that they could also give their time to others, and also the guidance changed - meaning that we were no longer all allowed to walk together at the same time. However thanks to the bonds we had forged we stayed in touch, and met in twos or threes for walks (depending on the current guidance). We became friends, booking onto the same swimming classes, celebrating the babies' different milestones, and sharing tips, advice, worries and challenges. Now, we have shared the joy of first birthdays - as well as the lows of returning to work! We continue to keep in touch, to attend classes together and even the same nursery for three of us.
It has been so helpful to have this group of new friends to share this journey with, and as someone who was considered at high risk of PND due to my personal history (and thus supported by perinatal psychiatry), I am really grateful to my Health Visitors for helping me to connect with other mums, to make friends for myself and also for my baby, when the usual opportunities to do so weren't available. It has been a real highlight of my first year as a mum and shows the commitment that my Health Visitors team has to supporting the parents in their care that they found this way to bring us together.
Thank you to Louisa and all the team!
