Shropshire Star

Hospital staff celebrate awards night

The commitment and hard work of staff working at The Robert Jones and Agnes Hunt Orthopaedic Hospital was recognised at its annual Celebration of Achievement Awards.

Published
Members of Oswald ward celebrate their win

A total of 17 awards were presented to individuals and teams from the Oswestry-based hospital.

It was a double celebration for Oswald Ward which won the STAR award and also saw Staff Nurse Pip Page-Davies win the Patient Choice Award.

Patients past and present nominated members of staff from across the hospital for the award, and a record 1,300 votes were cast for the shortlist of four which also included: Mr Shashank Chitgopkar, Consultant Spinal Surgeon; Gill Lawrence, Extended Scope Practitioner and Mary Watkins, Specialist Psychologist Rehabilitation Practitioner.

Mark Brandreth, Chief Executive of RJAH, said: “It was a brilliant evening and fantastic to have so many of our great members of staff come together to celebrate some of our achievements from the past year.

“It rounded up a brilliant year for the hospital, as the night before a team of 10 of us attended the Health Service Journal Awards, where we were shortlisted in two categories, as well as being ranked No 1 in the country for overall patient experience in an inpatient survey carried out by the Care Quality Commission.

“We have an incredible team at the RJAH working in clinical and non-clinical roles who are making a massive difference to the lives of their patients and colleagues on a daily basis."

Consultant Anaesthetist, Dr Rob Alcock, was presented with the Lifetime Achievement Award while the Mary Powell Nurse of the Year Award – named in honour of a former matron at the hospital – was presented to Acute Pain Sister, Nicki Williams.

The Orthotics team won the Quality Improvement of the Year Award, and the Commitment to Learning Award, which went to Senior Orthotist, Emma Bonnick.

Nick Richardson, Senior Technician in the Sterile Services Department, won the Richard Clarke Unsung Hero Award named in memory of a former Non-Executive Director of the hospital who passed away last year.

Frank Collins, Trust Chairman, said: “It was a pleasure and a privilege to spend the evening celebrating the achievements of the hard-working teams and individuals who work at RJAH.

“Congratulations to all the winners, finalists and those who were nominated for awards, and I would also like to put on the record my appreciation for staff members who were unable to attend the event because they were on shift caring for our patients. That can’t go without mention.

“I am immensely proud to be chairman of this inspiring organisation and last night was no exception to that.”