E&NH0314
Team gets critical acclaim in landing award
Amongst other awards given out at the Trust’s annual staff awards,
critical care team lands best team
Stevenage, UK – 9 March 2009 – One of the Trust’s two critical care teams landed
this year’s best team award at the annual staff awards, which were held in Knebworth
Barns on Friday, 6 March. They were one of four short listed nominations, all of
whom had been put forward by their colleagues. The Lister’s critical care staff were
chosen as the Trust’s Best team this year following the consistent improvements
made to their service – including developing an outreach service to the hospital’s
wards from January, which takes critical care skills out to patients on wards. The aim
has been to identify early those who need critical care, as well as helping to prevent
people being admitted to intensive and high dependency care units through faster
intervention.
The other short listed nominations in the Best team award category were:
•
Renal technical department (a Trust-wide team);
•
Sterile services department (Trust-wide team);
•
Safeguarding children department (Trust-wide team).
Commenting on the team’s success, the Trust’s chief executive Nick Carver said:
“Our hospitals are crammed with excellent teams, so selecting a best one each year
is really challenging.
This was especially so this year, with four high quality
nominations being shortlisted for the final stage. In the end, the Lister’s critical care
team stood out as the winner. They look after some of the sickest people who come
in to hospital, often at times when there can be very high demand for their services.
Over the years they have streamlined and improved the care they give to their
patients, but the introduction of the outreach service this year has been a really
significant step forward for the whole Trust.”
2/Team gets critical acclaim in landing award
Each year, the Trust launches its staff awards seeking nominations – which must be
made by its staff. These are received, short listed and judged by a panel comprising
both management and staff side representatives. The three award categories for
nominations in 2009 were Best team leader, Best team and Best innovation. In
addition, the Trust’s chief executive, Nick Carver, also makes his own chief
executive’s awards, which are given to individuals and/or teams chosen by him in
recognition of the outstanding contribution he, she or they may have made to the
Trust.
The other winners at the Trust’s 2009 staff awards were:
•
Best team leader – Carol Mumford, matron, Lister renal unit;
•
Best innovation – Rosalind Webb, cardiac physiologist, cardiology team;
•
Chief executive’s awards – Shuna Kavanagh and Lesley Haskell, outpatient
supervisors;
•
Chief executive’s award – Andrew Cannon, waste porter, QEII (posthumous
award);
•
Chief executive’s award – Dr Richard Dent, consultation physician, QEII
-ends-
Notes to editors
Award winners’ nominations
Best team: critical care team, Lister
Critical care is one of those services that some may describe as being at the sharp end of
acute hospital care. Patients are often extremely unwell and often death is never far away;
sadly for some, and despite the best efforts of our staff, that is the outcome too. So critical
care staff are coping with patients and their families in times of extreme stress for those
involved.
The team at the Lister comprises 85 staff, which is led by matron, Wendy Collier. Despite its
size, the team works very well together through being divided in to smaller teams. While each
of these smaller teams has common patient care responsibilities, they also develop specific
interests on which they lead for the overall team as a whole.
Over the years, the team has worked hard in developing and implementing care bundles,
which mean that every patient receives the same level of high quality care. They have also
developed cross-working and co-operation with their colleagues at the QEII – which has been
critical to the Trust providing a high quality service for all of the communities we serve.
3/Team gets critical acclaim in landing award
Best team: critical care team, Lister (contd.)
In January of this year, the team developed an outreach service at the Lister that takes the
skills of critical care out to patients on wards with the aim of identifying early those that need
critical care – or to prevent them being transferred to the hospital’s intensive care or high
dependency units.
Best team leader: Carol Mumford, matron, Lister renal unit
A member of staff for nearly 20 years, she was one of the first dialysis nurses when the
original unit at the Lister opened, Carol’s style is typified by a hands-on approach – despite
her considerable management responsibilities. Since being appointed matron, Carol’s
presence on the unit has helped to ensure a high standard of care; she is often described as
being an inspiration to more junior members of the team.
Carol maintains an active interest in research – currently she is a co-investigator in a busy,
multi-centre national trial – and chairs several important committees. She has also played an
active role in infection control, as well as vascular access management. Carol’s success in
these two areas in particular is evident in the team’s improving performance.
Typically of Carol, she is an articulate voice for dialysis staff and always ensures that her
colleagues get the credit they deserve.
Best innovation: Rosalind Webb, cardiology
Rosalind – who is better known to her colleagues as Roz – is the Trust’s senior chief cardiac
physiologist, supporting the cardiology teams based at the Lister and QEII.
Since taking on this role, Roz has come up with many innovative ideas to move the
department forward. The most effective of these to date has been her work in liaising with the
University of Hertfordshire in establishing a link with its gap year programme.
A long standing challenge for the Trust has been in recruiting trained physiologists, of which
there is a national shortage. By developing links with the university’s gap year programme,
Roz has enabled the Trust to take on three suitably educated students this year.
While solving an immediate problem of having improving levels of staff within the cardiology
team, it has also provided the students with an invaluable insight in to the role of becoming a
cardiac physiologist. A training programme has also been developed that will allow these
students to be fast-tracked within the cardiac physiologist degree programme, should they
choose this career.
Roz’s innovative work, therefore, has enabled the cardiology team to raise awareness of this
small, but highly important and specialised field within medicine. Perhaps most importantly, it
has aided the Trust in recruiting educated and motivated individuals in to junior roles; this in
turn has resulted in a positive effect within the team as a whole in reducing waiting times for
patients and increasing capacity overall. So successful has this initiative proved, plans are in
place already to recruit next year’s students.
Chief executive awards: Shuna Kavanagh and Lesley Haskell, outpatients supervisors
During the last four months of 2008, the outpatient contact centre and booking team at the
Lister had to move from its base outside the hospital’s main outpatients department, initially to
the former post graduate centre building before moving finally to the ground floor of the Old
School of Nursing.
Coinciding with these two, highly disruptive moves, three of the team’s senior leaders left the
Trust. At the same time, the Trust introduced the new divisional management structure from
October 2008, bringing additional change of personnel. Shuna and Lesley, who have both
worked for the Trust now for many years, were instrumental in stepping in to the significant
leadership gap that appeared at this crucial time.
4/Team gets critical acclaim in landing award
Chief executive’s awards: Shuna Kavanagh and Lesley Haskell, outpatients supervisors
(cont.)
Between them, they led and supported their outpatient team colleagues through a series of
changes that were highly complex and challenging to deliver, whilst also keeping this
important service running.
What is more remarkable is that neither Shuna nor Lesley were asked to take on this role,
and nor at the time were they acting up to these roles officially. Quite simply, they saw the
need for leadership and stepped in to the roles.
For Shuna and Lesley, this involved many extra hours. They were always receptive to all the
additional tasks they needed to complete, supporting their colleagues throughout all the
changes on which they led.
Whatever the pressures and unexpected twists and turns that such moves bring inevitably,
Shuna and Lesley behaved professionally and courteously throughout. Most importantly, they
were able to keep their sense of humour – even during difficult times.
When the contact centre moved finally to the old school of nursing, Shuna and Lesley were
there all weekend to ensure that the team’s work could start as smoothly as possible the
following Monday.
It is clear that not only do Shuna and Lesley have very high customer service skills, they also
have patients’ best interests at heart. This is alone is clear from the amazing support they
generated from their colleagues.
Chief executive’s award: Dr Richard Dent, consultant physician, QEII
Richard, who is one of the Trust's longest serving consultants, retired from the Trust in
February 2009. A consultant physician with a special interest in thoracic medicine, whose
main base has been at the Queen Elizabeth II (QEII) hospital in Welwyn Garden City, Richard
has been at the forefront of many developments since the Trust was formed in April 2000.
His work has included the establishment of a respiratory network with local primary care
trusts, which has resulted in the appointment of the first chronic obstructive pulmonary
disorder (COPD) specialist in a primary care setting, as well as playing a leading role in the
building of the new Hertford County hospital.
Richard’s respiratory medicine work has resulted in significant improvements in the treatment
and care provided to patients through the development of acute admissions units, along with
the development of integrated care pathways for those suffering from COPD – now one of the
most common respiratory conditions in the UK. Similar developments have been delivered
for the Trust’s tuberculosis service.
Between February 2004 and October 2008, Richard was the Trust’s associate medical
director and cancer lead, chairing the Trust’s cancer board. In this role, he had a central lead
in the strategic development of cancer services within the Trust and in partnership with the
Mount Vernon Cancer Network.
Following his retirement, Richard will be returning to the Trust working part-time on its
Delivering quality health care for Hertfordshire implementation programme, providing clinical
leadership and expertise
5/Team gets critical acclaim in landing award
Chief executive’s award: Andrew Cannon, waste porter, QEII (posthumous award)
This award is being made posthumously to Andrew, who was a waste porter at the QEII until
his very sad and untimely death at the end of last year.
Anyone who knew Andrew would tell you that he loved his job. It really showed because he
was always such a happy person, despite having one of those roles that many would not want
to do.
Andrew was known by his colleagues and across the hospital as being a truly helpful person,
both to patients and staff. Indeed he was held in high esteem by all.
Tragically Andrew – who was in his late fifties – died just before Christmas, leaving his wife
Elizabeth on her own. She works in the catering department at the QEII, where she is being
well supported by her colleagues.
For more information on this press statement, please call Peter Gibson, head of public
affairs on: 01438 781522 or Steve Creswell, public relations officer on: 01438 781736
(both direct lines); for out-of-hours, please page the duty press officer on 07659
103839.