NHS staff in Oldham have been recognised for their contribution during the COVID-19 pandemic by being named Northern Care Alliance NHS Foundation Trust (NCA) Staff Award winners.
On Friday, December 3, 10 awards were handed out to individual and teams across the NCA. Unsuspecting winners were joined in their workplace by a range of NCA directors who paid tribute to their amazing contribution to the organisation.
Among the winners was Paula Challoner, Group Lead for Domestic Services, who won the NCA Individual of the Year Award.
Paula, based in Oldham, has worked tirelessly throughout the pandemic to ensure the highest standards of decontamination across the NCA’s hospital sites and has supported many staff across the Trust’s Estates and Facilities function during a challenging period.
She said: “I can’t believe I’ve won. This award isn’t for me – it’s for all the amazing domestics and the fantastic job they’ve done throughout the pandemic, often in high-risk clinical areas.
“I couldn’t have done my job without the support given to me by the team around me every day.”
Another winner was Dr Joel Paul, Consultant Virologist, who was presented with a Leadership Award alongside Dr Paul Chadwick, Consultant Microbiologist and Clinical Director.
Their award recognised their fantastic infection prevention and control work during the pandemic.
Dr Paul is based in the pathology department at The Royal Oldham Hospital and among his and Dr Chadwick’s achievements is the speeding up of turn-around times for COVID tests and a reduction in nosocomial infections (infections that start in hospital).
Dr Paul was presented with the award by NCA Chairman, Professor Michael Luger, who popped by his office to surprise him.
Dr Paul said both he and Dr Chadwick owed their accolade to the team around them, adding: “When you start your career as an infection doctor, the whole world is open to you, to discover new things, with all kinds of small discoveries taking place all the time.
“But there’s now one, all-encompassing thing that we are all working on, which has brought us together.”
Trainee Advanced Practitioner Amanda Lane from, The Royal Oldham’s Haematology department, was one of a number of staff to be highly commended.
Amanda received a highly commended certificate in the Individual of the Year category for the work she has done to support haemochromotosis patients.
She developed and implemented pathway improvements to support delivery of the national cancer and referral to treatment standards.
During the peak of the pandemic, Amanda carried out home visits to some of the most vulnerable shielded cancer patients. She delivered prescriptions, carried out blood tests and ensured patients had everything they required to remain safe at home.
Amanda said: “I am so grateful for all the support I’ve had from management and colleagues in my role as Trainee Haematology ACP.
“With their support and encouragement, I have been able to improve and develop patient pathways. It has been a challenging time and it means so much to receive this award.”
Lubomyra (Luba) Szymanskyj, Technical Manager in the Pathology department at Oldham was also highly commended in the Social Value Award category for the fantastic work she does to promote opportunities for pre-employment learners to obtain the work experience they need to gain employment.
A number of other individuals and teams have also been successful in winning Staff Awards this year including Lee Stone, Clinical Lead for Oldham Vaccination Hub, who won a leadership award for his excellent management of Oldham’s Vaccination Hub; the hospital’s ICU team, who scooped a Team of the Year Award at Oldham; Nurse Amanda Brazendale, who won a Customer Experience Award for her work with patients on T4 vascular surgery ward at Oldham; and Catherine Hives, who also won a Social Value award for the support she provided to staff on placement with the hospital’s General Medical Unit.
In addition to the 10 NCA winners, over 40 other individuals and teams were awarded for their contribution to their Care Organisation, Diagnostics and Pharmacy and Corporate Services. See the full list here: https://tinyurl.com/73vycerd
All winners were selected from a pool of over 600 nominations, which were made by NCA staff members.
