Clare Ward triumphed over ten other finalists to win the Nursing Times Team of the Year award, which was presented to team manager, Keith Roberts, and deputy team leader, Larissa Brandao, at a ceremony in London on Wednesday.
The team at Clare Ward were honoured for their commitment to delivering the highest standards of care, their learning from difficult incidents, and their innovative methods of using quality improvement – for example, they were the first service in the Trust to trial a new quality improvement initiative looking at the implementation of physical health clinics on inpatient wards.
Fiona Edwards, Chief Executive said: “I’m absolutely delighted that our colleagues from Clare Ward have been recognised for their innovative and compassionate work. All our staff on our inpatient services work incredibly hard to support people who are acutely unwell, and it is especially encouraging to see mental health nursing being honoured at this national level.”
Keith Roberts, team manager, said: “We’re absolutely on cloud nine about this award. We were thrilled to be nominated alongside colleagues from all the other organisations, and to be awarded Team of the Year was an unbelievable moment. Receiving this award is a huge morale boost and drives home the message that, without losing sight of the challenges that we face, we can celebrate what’s going well.”
Clare Ward is an inpatient mental health ward for up to 20 males aged between 18 and 65, and serves the Elmbridge area. It is one of three mental health wards at the Abraham Cowley Unit. The Nursing Times Awards are an annual event which recognises the exceptional achievements of nurses and healthcare organisations.