Health heroes from Derry, Strabane and Limavady among those honoured at Western Trust awards

More than 240 staff and guests, including award winners, colleagues and management from across the Western Trust joined together at a special ceremony held at the Killyhevlin Hotel, Enniskillen on Thursday 18 April 2024.

Awards were made in nine categories celebrating care, innovation, leadership and excellent services being delivered each day by dedicated individuals and teams.

Among the winners was Michelle Doyle, Homeless Nurse, Labre Hub, Derry, who was named Frontline Champion of the Year Award winner and also received the prestigious Chair's Award.Dr Emer Teague, Acute Medicine Consultant, Altnagelvin Hospital meanwhile was named Leading the Way Award winner, while Debbie Hunter Macmillan Personalised Care Facilitator, North West Cancer Centre and Naomi Wilson, Day Case Recovery Unit, Altnagelvin Hospital were named joint Championing our Health Award winners.

Carmel O’Kane, Lead Nurse, Community Children’s Services, Waterside Hospital, and Kevin Leonard, Senior Social Work Practitioner, Glendermott Medical Practice, Waterside Health Centre were named joint Community Champion of the Year Award winners and Ann Box, Respiratory Nurse Specialist, Altnagelvin Hospital and Dr Pat Podmore, Consultant Dermatologist, Altnagelvin Hospital were Frontline Champion of the Year Award winners.

Speaking at the event, Western Trust Chair Dr Tom Frawley, CBE said: “Thank you to each and every one of our Western Trust staff who go above and beyond each and every day. It really is a privilege to be able to honour you, in this my first year as your Chair. The professionalism, dedication and compassion shown to your patients, clients and fellow colleagues never ceases to amaze. In my first year as Chair I have made it my business to visit and meet as many staff and teams as possible and I am inspired by the work you do. Tonight’s ceremony is an opportunity to celebrate that.”

He added: “Our Staff Awards reflect our Trust core values and are a great opportunity to acknowledge the part individual members of staff and their teams play in delivering a high quality patient-centred service, whilst inspiring others and delivering beyond expectations. The winners and those highly commended represent all that is good about health and social care in this area. From inspirational leaders to those who go the extra mile working quietly behind the scenes - we all know of someone who deserves our special thanks.

“We know all too well our health and social care service has been under enormous pressures for quite some time now and in such circumstances we know how hard it is to keep morale high whilst delivering a high quality, professional and compassionate service to our patients, but that is exactly what Western Trust staff continue to do.”

“We received a record number of nominations this year, with hundreds of staff and teams being put forward by their colleagues which made it exceptionally hard for myself and the shortlisting panels, everybody is a winner tonight. What should make you the most proud is not the actual award itself, but what you do and continue to do that impresses your peers and makes an impact on the lives of your patients. Any recognition is just the icing on the cake, not to be expected but definitely to be enjoyed!”

Trust Chief Executive, Neil Guckian spoke about his gratitude and pride in being a part of such an incredible Trust family. He said: “I wish to express my thanks to staff for everything you do every day. It is humbling to be amongst Trust colleagues who continued to evolve and improve our services and provide compassionate and quality care during such an unprecedented time for healthcare.”

“Whilst it’s great to recognise successes or significant achievements at our awards ceremony, I also think about the contributions our staff make on a daily basis. They’ve each delivered or supported care, faced new challenges and found alternative ways to overcome them. All this, whilst showing a continued commitment, loyalty and dedication to delivering the best services possible.”

Mr Guckian continued: “Across all our programmes we are facing unprecedented demand and have been rebuilding services post Covid. We know there are blockages in the flow through and out of our hospital system. We have done a lot of work and development over the past number of years but more needs to be done particularly with our waiting lists which are very difficult and reflect the difference between demand and our capacity.

“Our population expects the best possible service from us, and we will always try to meet this. We are a family we are tribe in the West.”

Mr Guckian also paid tribute to staff who we lost over the past year he said: “We lost some of our family in recent times and we pay tribute to their lifelong contribution to our population, our patients and clients and service users, our services and colleagues.”

Western Trust Chief Executive, Neil Guckian, OBE and Director of Human Resources and Organisational Development, Karen Hargan, presented the awards and certificates to the winners and those highly commended.

Individuals and teams were nominated by their colleagues across the nine award categories, alongside the coveted Chair’s award. Categories included: Community Champion, Improvement and Involvement, Supporting Our Services Champion, Championing Our Health, Rising Star, Leading the Way, Frontline Champion, Working Together Team Award. The long-term commitment and dedication of our staff was also recognised in the Lifetime Achievement awards.

This year recipients of Special Awards from across the Western Trust were also invited to be recognised for their commitment to nursing, midwifery and social work including the Hilary Curry Cup for Cancer Services; Anona Clarke Award for Nursing/Midwifery; Joan Ross Award for Outstanding Social Work Practice; Nuala McLaughlin Award (Social Work) and the Patient/Service User Outcome and Experience Award. This year there was a new special award category the Medical Scientist Award presented by Professor Gerry McKenna.