NHS Forth Valley: Awards see accolades for staff including caring midwife and porter who helped families and patients at difficult times

The accolades were set up to highlight the outstanding contribution made by healthcare staff across the organisation with nominations sought from colleagues, patients and their relatives.

This year there were over 800 nominations with six winners selected, as well as awards from the chair and to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the NHS.

Midwife Chloe Jackson received the Outstanding Care Award for the care and compassion she showed when Penelope Hooper was delivered stillborn at 38 weeks.

Ryan Hooper, who along with his wife Melissa, nominated Chloe for the award, said: “Chloe did not allow the situation to affect her professionalism. She treated Penelope like any other baby who had just been delivered. She spoke to her, and commented on her beautiful looks and how she had a head full of black hair.

"I asked Chloe if she had ever dealt with a stillbirth before and she told us this was her first experience.

“Melissa and I were shocked as she acted and behaved far beyond her years and with such emotional awareness. She is a true credit to herself, her family, Forth Valley Royal Hospital and the Women and Children's unit. She is to be commended in every sense and is a role model for other young midwives.”

Chloe’s care and support motivated the couple to raise money to buy an additional cuddle cot for the maternity unit at Forth Valley Royal Hospital to help support other parents who experience the death of a baby.

The Inspiration Award which recognises the work of individuals who inspire others went to Dr Edward Shaw, a consultant psychiatrist with the Mental Health Acute Assessment and Treatment Service at Forth Valley Royal Hospital.

He was nominated by colleagues for going above and beyond what anyone would expect to support local patients and staff. This included working on weekends and bank holidays to ensure patients received urgent treatment, covering shifts at short notice and spending his weekend purchasing furniture and food to secretly create a new area in the ward where staff could take breaks. Ed was described as a reliable, trustworthy and very supportive individual who has a lovely manner with patients and always makes time for relatives and carers.

The Top Team Award, which aims to recognise the work of teams which deliver an excellent service and work together to drive forward positive changes and improvements, was presented to the Integrated Mental Health Service Team based at Woodlands Resource Centre at Falkirk Community Hospital.

The multidisciplinary team support local people across Falkirk who are living with or experiencing severe and enduring mental health issues and they were praised for their loyalty, dedication and hard work to deliver the best outcomes for local patients.

The Service Improvement Award was awarded to the NHS Forth Valley Pain Management Team, a multidisciplinary team which helps patients experiencing complex, persistent pain. In order to address increasing demand and reduce waiting times, the service created a new first contact physiotherapy practitioner role to increase capacity and free up consultant time to focus on patients with more complex healthcare needs. Alongside this new role, Active Clinical Triage Referral (ACTR) vetting procedures were implemented to reduce the risk of patients sitting on an inappropriate waiting list or highlighting when patients may require assessment or treatment for other conditions, such as cancer or inflammatory conditions.

The Substance Use Service Team based at Falkirk Community Hospital were the proud winners of the Health and Wellbeing Award which aims to recognise the work of individuals or teams who have helped improve the health and wellbeing of local patients, communities or staff within the workplace. The Team has worked hard to promote staff wellbeing through a range of new developments and activities, including organising wellbeing days, recognising the achievement of local staff with awards and certificates and ensuring staff have the time to reflect on their own wellbeing and support colleagues.

The Better Workplace Award, which aims to recognise individuals who make work a better place was awarded to Eilidh Gibson a learning disability staff nurse with the Additional Support Team, based at The Bungalows in Larbert. Eilidh was described by colleagues as having exceptional qualities and an unwavering commitment to create a better work environment for all. She was praised for her cheerful presence which helps uplift everyone's spirits, even in the most challenging situations.

Susan McRobbie, a district nurse in Callander, was the recipient of one of two special awards presented this year to mark the NHS 75th Anniversary for her kindness and compassion.

Susan was caring for a patient who lived his life outdoors in a makeshift home and wanted to live his last days there. Despite the difficulties providing nursing care in an environment with no mod cons such as electricity and running water, Susan went above and beyond to ensure he was able to die in the place he wanted to be with the dignity he deserved. She made sure he was pain-free and comfortable, and that his home was watertight. She also walked over fields to collect warm water to clean him and made sure he had fresh bedding. Susan is described as an amazing nurse with colleagues proud to be part of her team.

The other NHS 75th Anniversary Award went to FVRH Ward A31, which received multiple nominations from local patients and their families. Staff were praised, not only for their outstanding care, but also for copious amounts of tea, cuddles and comfort they provided to support local families and help keep their spirits up at a difficult time.

The Chair’s Award was presented to Serco porter James McCartney, for the great care and sensitivity he showed following the death of a child at Forth Valley Royal Hospital.

James was courteous, respectful and attentive to ensure that the utmost dignity was shown to the young patient. His attention to detail was described as incredible, which allowed staff to deal with outside agencies and other things that needed to be done. The care and attention he showed was recognised and appreciated by his colleagues who said it was not something that could be taught or learned through a course but came from his commitment to do his very best for the young child in his care.

NHS Forth Valley’s interim chief executive, Amanda Croft, said: “These awards provide a great opportunity for patients, families and colleagues to show how much they value and appreciate the work of local NHS staff who go above and beyond to deliver excellent services, care and treatment. I’m incredibly proud of the fantastic work being taken forward by staff across the organisation and would like to offer my personal congratulations to all of the winners and finalists for this year’s awards.”