This award is an opportunity for patients, families, visitors and Trust colleagues to say ‘thank you – you made a difference’ to a member of staff or a team for anything (however small!) that helped make their experience of our services better.

Shine a Light Award Winner – January 2015

Tracey Willis, Senior Care Co-ordinator, Intermediate Care Team, Princess of Wales Hospital, Ely

Tracey was nominated by Alison Finlay, intermediate care manager for helping Cambridgeshire County Council to cover calls for a domiciliary care agency which had failed to cover its calls in their area on Christmas Day and Boxing Day.

Tracey managed to cover 60 care calls for people across East Cambs, a small miracle compounded by her professionalism and organisational skills in both liaising with the care agency and the Cambs County Council directors. This was only possible because of the good relations she has with and respect the team members have for her.

Well done to Tracey!

Other nominations for January include:

Margaret Fitzgerald, Key Worker, Drug/Alcohol Worker

Margaret was nominated by a patient for the help she gave in relation to their drug taking and for assessing their alcohol.  She placed her on respite which they had done before but this time she felt they had full support before and after.  She has changed her life.

Clare Slora, Children's Nurse, Holly Ward

Clare was nominated by the mother of one of her patients, after her son was admitted to Holly Ward three days before Christmas.  Her son, aged two, was admitted suffering from viral tonsillitis and dehydration. Despite his constant protests of “no like lady” and a lot of kicking and screaming, Clare was brilliant in helping to get some fluids into him via a nasal tube, and also in reassuring them in what she was doing and why. He hated having the nasal tube and constantly tried to remove it and how she was able to keep this in and keep the fluids going into him through all his protesting was incredible!

Her patience and tolerance paid off and the next day he had recovered enough to enable them to take him home, and in time for Christmas. If it wasn’t for Clare their Christmas might well have been very different. Their heartfelt thanks go out to Clare for her help and support on those very emotional and traumatic 24 hours.

Amie Thrope and Kerry Rasberry, Special Care Baby Unit Nurses and the SCBU team, Hinchingbrooke Hospital

Amie and Kerry were commended by the mother of one of the patients for the care they provided to her daughter. Their daughter was born 6 weeks early and was under the care of Hinchingbrooke SCBU. They were a great support for them as first time parents, through this challenging but rewarding time and made it a lot easier to cope during this period.

They went that extra mile to make their experience in SCBU the best it could have been. The whole team works 24/7 365 days a year and the standard of care is at the highest and they need to be recognised for this. Kate Rivett the manager for this area has also been supportive in ensuring they received the care and plan they needed to get their daughter home. They are now home but are still in touch with SCBU who are still available for any questions or concerns they have. An amazing team with amazing people.

Donna Malley, Occupational Therapist, The Oliver Zangwill Centre

Donna was nominated by the partner of one of her patients who has been attending the Oliver Zangwill Centre since July 2014.  She has been amazing and has supported them through every milestone in his journey. They couldn't be more thankful for all the support she has given them.

Community Pharmacy Technician, Pharmacy technicians, Luton

The team were nominated by Rachel Kremer, community nurse specialist anticoagulation/DVT, as in the Luton Anticoagulant clinic they often have patients that find it difficult to manage the changing requirements of warfarin medication or they have patients that they are not sure if they are following the dose instructions. Oral anticoagulation can be very dangerous if not taken correctly so it is important that they are able to ensure that patients are able to follow the instructions correctly. If they have patients that are having difficulty managing their levels/doses they seek the help of the community pharmacy technicians.

The pharmacy technician sees the patients in their home. They also help them to see what is actually going on in the patients homes and how they deal with not only their oral anticoagulation medication but also any other medication they are taking. In the past they have identified patients that have huge stock piles of medication, helped patients to use dossett boxes and liaised with GP's as required. Patients also appear to like the contact they have with the pharmacy technicians as they talk positively about the meeting they have. They are always easy to contact. 

Chris Hampson, PALS and Public Engagement Coordinator, PALS and Patient Experience, The Meadows, St Ives

Chris was commended by Lisa Milner, PALS and patient experience assistant, for the outstanding support and guidance she has received since starting in the post a year ago. His whole demeanour when dealing with service users is fantastic and no matter what is thrown at him he is always calm, emphatic and professional. Chris is incredibly supportive and Lisa receives many calls from service users stating how much they appreciate Chris and what a difference he has made to their lives just by listening to them.

This is also true for his colleagues who he has assisted during difficult times when a concern is raised. They deal with many compliments regarding other services on a daily basis which they ensure teams are made aware of, and rightly so. However the praise and compliments that Chris receives does not always get recognised as it is all 'part of his job' (Chris' words) and this is why he has been nominated for the Shine a Light Award.