Unsung NHS heroes who are making big differences to the lives of people with mental health problems and learning disabilities across Lincolnshire have been recognised at a county awards ceremony.
Staff who regularly go the extra mile at Lincolnshire Partnership NHS Foundation Trust were celebrated as part of the seventh Making a Difference Every Day – Staff Excellence Awards which recently took place in Lincoln.
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 28 finalists and eventual 10 winners were all chosen from over 160 nominations received from colleagues, managers, patients, carers and other organisations which 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, 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 over the past year.
“A number of our services and staff have received national accolades this year, highlighting the strengths and care of the services they provide for the people of Lincolnshire.”
Award sponsor, Dr Sharon Black, Director of Nurse Education at the University of Lincoln who presented this year’s Inspirational Leader category, said: “It was a real privilege to be part of an event that recognises the hard work of a number of healthcare professionals across the county.
“Lincolnshire Partnership NHS Foundation Trust is always great with the students we send on placements, providing them with first-hand clinical experience, but also sharing the passion and belief to make our trainee nurses understand the importance of delivering an exceptional patient-focused service.”
Among those receiving their awards on the night was Volunteer of the Year, Ron Rouse, from the Manthorpe Centre, Grantham, which cares for people with dementia. Ron was recognised for the immense time and effort he puts into creating new activities and for being on hand to chat empathetically with the patients.
He said volunteers as a way of saying ‘thank you’ for the care he received while a patient at the centre and has come up with some innovative ideas to improve the patient experience and has been instrumental in the introduction of animal-assisted therapies, bringing his own rabbits onto the ward to help patients feel relaxed and happy.
This year’s People’s Award nominated by patients and carers went to the Trust’s Recovery College, which works countywide assisting people with their mental health recovery and helping them develop coping strategies and skills for living independently in the community.
The team is made up of people with backgrounds in teaching, occupational therapists and people with lived experience of mental illness.
