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Staff Success at Ashford and St Peters
Written by Head of Communications   

You’re all champions, Jason Leonard OBE tells staff at Ashford and St. Peter’s Hospitals NHS Trust

'You're all champions' was the verdict of celebrity guest Jason Leonard OBE, who presented the annual achievement awards to staff at Ashford and St. Peter’s Hospitals NHS Trust earlier this week.

The annual awards are a celebration of the commitment and dedication of staff working at the Trust’s two hospitals – at Ashford, and at St. Peter’s in Chertsey – and over 200 people were invited to the event this week, held at the Runnymede Hotel in Egham.

Summing up the evening, Jason Leonard, who generously gave his time to come and support the Trust, spoke with admiration to the audience: “You've been nominated by your colleagues, which is something to be very proud of. I come from a rugby background, and I've won the World Cup, and what we valued as a team was very much along the same lines as what you are recognising here tonight. For me it’s a real honour to see people supporting their own. You are so good to each other, giving encouragement and support day in and day out, year in, year out. I think you’re all champions doing a fantastic job.”


Staff are nominated for the awards by their peers in four main categories; putting patients first; taking personal responsibility; having a passion for excellence; and taking pride in their team. In addition, the Trust gives a special award to the Volunteer of the Year, a further celebration and thank you to the 500 + volunteers who freely give their time to help hospital staff. Nominations for the awards were made for staff working across a wide range of disciplines within the Trust showcasing the many and varied departments that make up a busy general hospital. Star prize – having a passion for excellence and nominated Employee of the Year – went to Information Consultant Andrew Davis who lives in Nottinghamshire, working at St Peter’s for part of the week, and from home using remote access technology for the other part. Said Andrew: “It was a complete shock to win, but of course I am absolutely delighted. I’ve got a lot to live up to now! What I do however, wouldn’t be possible without the support of the rest of the Information and IT department so I consider this award to be a real joint effort.”



Andrew was nominated in particular for his work in setting up an email alert system to monitor potentially vulnerable patients who attend the St. Peter’s A & E department, and for his thinking ‘outside the box’.


Team of the Year went to the Trust’s Maternity Services for their hard work in making significant improvements over the last year – last summer, a new mothers’ survey showed big increases in patient satisfaction in a wide range of areas, whilst the team was also rewarded with a second Gold award from the Twins and Multiple Births Association for the excellent support they give to multiple birth families. Associate Director for Maternity Services, Eileen Nolan, spoke of the win: “My heart was bursting with pride for my team – over the last year they have worked so hard to make this maternity department one of the best there is. We have had so many positive letters and thank you’s from mothers and families recently telling us how good and how improved the service is. I’m simply delighted we’ve been recognised in this way.”


Judges couldn’t decide between two final winners in the Personal Responsibility category, which was won by Matron for Critical Care Den Hallett, from Bisley for her work in promoting diversity within the hospitals, and Anne Swinburn, from Ashford, who is the Lead Recruitment Officer working in Human Resources.


Phlebotomy Team Leader, Tina Currier (from Addlestone) was the winner of the Patients First award, described as ‘inspirational’ in terms of her attitude to patients and colleagues. Finally, the Volunteer of the Year award went to Eve Weir (from Ashford), who is a volunteer on the Ashford Hospital Day Surgery Unit, for ‘her warmth, smile, compassion and helpfulness’ amongst a long list of attributes!


Trust Chairman, Aileen McLeish, spoke with pride about the work of staff across the two hospitals: “This evening has been a great opportunity for us to say a big thank you to all our staff who work so hard to make Ashford and St Peter’s what it is for our patients, and those nominated tonight are representative of the commitment made by so many. In our recent staff survey, the majority of staff said they would recommend the Trust as a place to work and as somewhere to receive care. That’s a real indicator of high motivation and job satisfaction that we can be really proud of and is further demonstrated in the achievements tonight.”

Last Updated ( Monday, 29 March 2010 09:46 )