Staff with STAR quality recognised

Surrey and Borders Partnership NHS Foundation Trust praised the work of staff, volunteers, partners and people who use its services at its sixth annual Staff Achievement and Recognition Awards (STAR) Awards on Wednesday 28 March.

The Mayors of: Runnymede, Cllr David Parr; Spelthorne, Cllr Samuel Budd and Elmbridge, Cllr John Sheldon, were among the 125 people who attended the event to recognise the dedication and commitment of local individuals and teams.

At the event, Fiona Edwards, Chief Executive of the Trust, said: "Tonight we’ve seen fantastic examples of people really going the extra mile to improve the lives of others – but these are only the tip of an iceberg and just a taster of the range of impressive work I see in our services, day-in, day-out across Surrey and North East Hampshire.

"I am sure most of us would agree that the past 12 months have been testing times across the public sector – which is why this year I am particularly proud of the passion and expertise people are continuing to demonstrate despite these challenging times."

Colleagues and members of the public made over 90 nominations for the awards which were shortlisted by a panel of Trust directors and foundation trust Governors, chaired by the Trust Chairman.

Winners across the eight categories were given Bronze, Silver or Gold Awards and presented with a commemorative trophy at the event.

WINNERS HIGHLIGHTS

Employee of the Year: (Gold)

Lynne Ramnanansingh, a Learning Disability Liaison Nurse employed by Surrey and Borders Partnership who works within East Surrey Hospital in Redhill, won the Employee of the Year Award (Gold) and the Partnership Working Award (Bronze)

Fiona Edwards, Trust Chief Executive presented Lynne with her Employee of the Year Award and said: "Lynne was nominated for this award by six different people, all of whom believe she has a passion for ensuring that people are treated equally and receive the best care possible at vulnerable times. Her role as learning disability liaison nurse is a huge one. She always has time for every individual’s needs. She is happy to stand up for people’s rights and explain to professionals in hospital how they could adapt their care to meet the needs of people with learning disabilities.

As she presented her second award, Mrs Edwards added: "Lynne is dedicated to supporting people with learning disabilities and their families when they are experiencing some of their most difficult episodes, and may be traumatised by events unravelling around them. Lynne liaises with family members, the medical team and community team to ensure people’s views are taken into account and that informed decisions are made on the person’s behalf. She shows a high degree of professionalism whilst being approachable and friendly and is not afraid to say things that might be difficult to hear if it is in a person’s best interest."

One of her nurse colleagues Sharon says: "Lynne shows such compassion and dedication to her clients. She routinely strives to educate colleagues in the hospital and to provide support and guidance. No challenge seems to be too big for her and she is not willing to settle for second best."

Team of the Year: (Gold)

Easterly House Day Service, a learning disability day centre in Thornton Heath, near Croydon.

Mrs Edwards said: "This year the team has moved from Geoffrey Harris House in Croydon to set up the new Easterly House Day Service in Thornton Heath. In doing so they have always put the needs of those who use the service first and supported relatives along the way. The team have found innovative ways of supporting people both before and after the move, with many people moving on to alternative day services in the area. Everybody had an individual box that they decorated in their own style and placed things that were most important to them inside. They worked on the boxes on a daily basis so that when it the time came to move on to new services they recognised their box and the things in it to help them settle in to their new surroundings. This is one example of the excellent work undertaken by the team to ensure a smooth transition for each person."

Volunteer of the Year: (Gold)

Katie Broome from Redhill is a Volunteer Assistant Psychlogist with Langley House Community Mental Health Recovery Services in Oxted. 

Ms Edwards said: "Katie has helped our corporate teams on three big data analysis projects this year, including working with staff to re-analyse the national NHS Staff Survey data to help us understand differences between the experiences of different communities within our staff. She also devised a new way to analyse and report in an accessible way our inpatient and community mental health survey results, bringing together the numerical data and comments to make the reports more useful in action planning. Katie’s tenacity and quality of work has been outstanding."

Support Worker of the Year: (Gold)

Samantha Salamat, Support Worker with the Early Intervention in Psychosis Service for West Surrey, based in Aldershot, won the Support Worker of the Year Award (Gold)

Mrs Edwards said: "Sam has been with the Early Intervention in Psychosis team for 18 months and has proved to be an incredible asset to the team and clients during this time. She is an excellent team player, always happy to help out her colleagues – whatever the task – to ensure an efficient service is delivered to clients. Sam has become an expert in completing housing and benefit applications which are very important to clients, she has gained a valuable knowledge base on housing projects, homeless law, criminal justice system and social activities for clients. She has also extended her role to make links with the voluntary sector and co-facilitates the weekly social activity group promoting social inclusion."

Partnership Working (Gold)

Beryl Weller, PA to the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) General Managers, based at West Park, Epsom won the Partnership Working Award (Gold) and the Involving People who Use Services and Carers Award (Silver). 

Ms Edwards said: "Beryl has developed a fantastic working relationship with the child and adolescent mental health youth advisors and apprentices who are involved in the day to day running of our children and young people’s services. She spends time engaging with and supporting young people in the process of participating in interviews, being their support on the day and steadying their nerves as they come into their role of advisor for the first time. Beryl makes their experiences of participation warm, friendly and welcoming."

Involving People Who Use Services and Carers: (Gold)

Laura Whittham, a Rights and Participation Officer with the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) in Woking, won the Involving People (Gold) award.

Mrs Edwards said: "Laura has worked tirelessly for the last 14 months to involve children and young people in the child and adolescent mental health youth advisors programme, as well as offering professionals her perspective on the service via training and recruitment panels. She is dedicated, full of energy and enthusiasm for what she does and brave enough to regularly share her story with young people and professionals alike in order to improve the service for others. Laura is a shining light of inspiration to us all."

Creativity and Innovation: (Gold)

Sarah Amani, Team Leader with the Early Intervention in Psychosis Service for Surrey Heath and North East Hampshire based at Aldershot Centre for Health – which works with young people aged 14-35 who are in the first three years of first experiencing psychosis – won the Creativity and Innovation Award (Gold).

Mrs Edwards said: "Last year Sarah led the service to Highly Commended in the prestigious Health Service Journal Awards and is currently leading another project with a Mary Seacole Award of £12,500 to engage Rushmoor’s Nepalese community in mental health services.

"Sarah has an ability to take a usual situation and think differently about it, be it through the use of multimedia to support others through to her new regional role of leading the youth mental health programme. She strives for gold standards at all times across all her work."

Leadership (Gold)

Emma Chamberlain, Team Leader at Hayworth House – an assessment and treatment service for older people in the grounds of St Peter’s Hospital – won the Leadership Award (Gold)

Mrs Edwards said: "Since joining the team two years ago Emma has brought the team to a very highly regarded level of expertise.

"Emma is warm and understanding but also organised and efficient. She is eager to teach her team and a great motivator both by example and through her supportive nature. She has excellent people skills, making each team member feel valued and supported whilst being able to take a strong lead. Emma is now supporting other teams to embrace her high standards – and all without ever failing her own team."

For more information about our STARS Awards, please contact Susie Hartley on 01372 216009.