Published on: 14th February 2018
Unsung NHS heroes who are making big differences to the lives of people with mental health problems and learning disabilities in Lincolnshire have been recognised at an awards ceremony.
Staff who regularly go the extra mile at Lincolnshire Partnership NHS Foundation Trust, were celebrated as part of the eighth Making a Difference Every Day – Staff Excellence Awards, which took place on Friday 2 February 2018 at the Epic Centre, Lincolnshire Showground.
There were lots of worthy winners on the night selected from ten categories which recognised people making a difference, inspiring leaders, volunteers and teams of the year.
The 30 finalists and eventual 10 winners were all chosen from over 200 nominations received from colleagues, managers, patients, carers and other organisations, who recognised that their work stood out from the crowd.
The event, sponsored by a number of local and national businesses including the University of Lincoln, Tillery Valley, Peachy Events, Systematic Print, Evalu8 and Hempsons, was a fantastic way to take stock of what has been a busy year for the local mental health and learning disability trust, and to celebrate some of the outstanding achievements of staff and volunteers delivering services day to day.
Trust Chair, Paul Devlin believes the awards acknowledge the team spirit that exists throughout the organisation - which has resulted in LPFT performing stronger than ever.
These awards are a great way of recognising the hard work and effort all of our staff and volunteers put into their roles on a daily basis, said Paul.
All the finalists and everyone who received a nomination should feel immensely proud of their achievements.
Among those receiving their award on the night was Volunteer of the Year, Neave Taylor, a musician who provides music to the patients at the Rochford Unit at the Pilgrim Hospital in Boston every week.
Neave said he enjoys performing to the patients because he believes that music does a lot to help people who have mental health issues.
Rebecca Dixon, Ward Sister on the Rochford Unit in Boston said:
I’ve known Neave since I was a student nurse back in 2012, when he was an active member of a recovery music group. I asked him whether he would like to perform to patients on our unit and he was more than happy to get involved.
Neave has been regularly visiting the ward for a number of years. His dedication is admirable and he always performs with enthusiasm and a smile. He is not only extremely talented; he is treasured by the patients here on the Rochford Unit who look forward to his performances.
This year’s People’s Award nominated by patients and carers went to Donna Bradford, Service Manager for Rehabilitation, in recognition of her work with carers as part of the ‘Triangle of Care’.
The ‘Triangle of Care’ is a set of national standards developed by the Carers’ Trust to help healthcare organisations ensure carers get the information and support they need to be involved effectively in the way their loved one is cared for.
Rachel Kitchen, Matron in LPFT’s Adult Inpatient Division, was one of the many people who nominated Donna for this award.
Rachel said:
Donna has made such a huge difference to the lives of carers and service users. She has worked hard to ensure that carers are included in service user care and treatment.
We now have staff educational materials, carer information packs and carer locality support groups. In addition to this, the Trust has recently received national recognition for the way they include carers in their loved one’s journey through LPFT. This is mostly due to Donna’s hard-work, persistence, inter-agency working and listening to the carers and their needs.
The full list of recipients of the 2018 Making a Difference Every Day - Staff Excellence Awards is available on the Trust’s website www.lpft.nhs.uk/making-a-difference
