Name your NHS heroes (From Swindon Advertiser)

Name your NHS heroes

8:40am Monday 23rd July 2012 in News

PATIENTS and staff are being asked to name their champions in a national scheme to celebrate the unsung heroes of the NHS. Anyone who works within the NHS can be nominated, for any reason which has made a difference.

It could be anyone from a volunteer making a much-needed cup of tea, a nurse taking extra time to listen, or a colleague who always lifts the spirit of the team.

Oonagh Fitzgerald, director of workforce and education at Great Western Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, is encouraging people to nominate members of her team at GWH.

She said: “I want the fantastic staff we have working across Swindon and Wiltshire to get the recognition they deserve for the good work they do every day of the year. We have so many unsung heroes working on wards, in community hospitals, out in local clinics and caring for people in their own homes.

“They are dedicated, compassionate and caring people who save lives and guide people through really tough times.

“Whether they are doctors and nurses on the frontline or receptionists and cleaners working hard behind the scenes, I hope patients, their families and carers, along with our staff, take the time to nominate their NHS Hero.

“This is our chance to say thank you and show them that we do notice.”

Amongst those already nominated are GWH theatre reception clerks Elizabeth Clarke and Andrea Goodman. Earlier this year, the pair won the Star of the Year Award at the Staff Excellence Awards, which recognised staff who demonstrate an outstanding commitment to providing an excellent, professional and caring service.

The scheme, which was launched by Health Secretary Andrew Lansley on the NHS’s 64th birthday earlier this month, is open to all staff working in the NHS.

Every member of staff nominated will receive a recognition certificate.

To nominate your NHS Hero visit www.nhsheroes.com and complete a short nomination form.