The outstanding work of teams and individuals who have gone above and beyond their everyday roles to transform care – including providing immunisations in schools, allowing people to be discharged quickly from hospital and introducing new tools, services and ways of working to support patients – were among the winners celebrated last night, Thursday 13 October, at Leicestershire Partnership NHS Trust’s (LPT) annual Celebrating Excellence Awards.

The evening – hosted by BBC Radio Leicester’s Breakfast Show presenter, Ady Dayman – saw awards presented to staff and teams for their extraordinary contribution to providing high quality care and wellbeing for all, after being nominated by the public, patients, service-users, carers, and colleagues.

The following awards were presented to those teams and individuals who – through their dedication – reflect LPT’s values of compassion, respect, integrity, and trust.

  • Delivering Exceptional Care Award – presented to the Podiatry team.

Over the last two years the Podiatry team have worked above and beyond their service area to support colleagues in the community nursing teams to deliver care to patients with lower limb ulcers.

  • Excellence in Enabling Services Award – presented to the Pharmacy team.

Over the past twelve months the Pharmacy team has introduced and embedded new ways of working to improve quicker access to medicines and high-quality care.

  • Excellent Innovation in Service Delivery Award – presented to the Therapy Led Discharge team.

This service has allowed patients to be discharged more quickly out of acute hospital settings back into their homes and into the community to receive therapy and other care to avoid deterioration and improve their outcomes.

  • Excellence in Equality, Diversity & Inclusion Award – presented to Amy Morrison.

Amy is an exceptional professional who is about to complete the Aspirant Ethnic Minority Nursing and Midwifery Leadership Programme. Amy has proposed a simple risk assessment tool to support health professionals identify people who are unlikely to benefit from digital services and prioritise face-to-face contacts instead.

  • Excellence in Leadership Award – presented to Jo-Anne Scordellis.

Jo compassionately listens to staff, service users and carers. She involves all staff in decision making while remaining dedicated to providing safe and outstanding patient-centred care.  She encourages staff to make use of their strengths and helps them develop their own leadership skills and interests.

  • Learner of the Year Award – presented to Dan Mason, 360 Assurance.

Dan has completed Counter Fraud Specialist training, from home and during Covid-19 restrictions – which is an incredible achievement for a trainee. He has also sought new opportunities to counter fraud, while sharing knowledge and learning with his team and the wider NHS.

  • Excellence in Partnership Awards – presented to the Learning Disabilities and/or Autism Collaborative.

By combining local authorities, NHS providers and commissioners into one virtual team, the service has been able to break down barriers and provide more seamless, flexible, person-centred services for people with learning disabilities and/or autism.

  • Unsung Hero of the Year – presented to Anita Patel.

Anita is awarded for her work in going above and beyond in organising and supporting the development and successful implementation of several key LPT initiatives which encourage staff development.

  • Excellence in Research Award – presented to Kelly Fenton.

Kelly has integrated research and evaluation into routine clinical practice, creating a core research group, which meets quarterly to review and develop research. She has encouraged staff to become involved in research and evaluation projects, developing their skills and confidence in this area.

  • Excellence in Quality Improvement – presented to North-West Leicestershire planned care & treatment team.

The team identified that by operating a duty system for outpatient clinics, they would be able to respond better and more efficiently to patients, ensuring that risks are reduced and their outcomes improve. Medics have also reported an improvement in their daily work as a result of this new system.

  • Team of the Year Award – presented to the School-Aged Immunisation Service (SAIS).

SAIS have worked exceptionally hard during the last year, including during the Summer term of 2021, when the team delivered a busy catch-up programme for vaccinations missed during Covid-19 school closures.

  • Excellence in Patient or Service User Involvement Award – presented to Leanne Kulik and Georgia Richardson.

Leanne and Georgia, both CAMHS peer support workers, have been at the forefront of supporting the participation and engagement of young people at the Youth Advisory Board, using their feedback to make positive improvements for patients.

  • Volunteer of the Year Award – presented to Voluntary Drivers.

The volunteer drivers have gone above and beyond with their support for helping patients get to and from appointments and delivering medication throughout the pandemic. They have even taken on journeys at short notice, often dropping things that they were doing to assist the service.

Angela Hillery, chief executive of LPT, said: “Our staff and volunteers are our greatest asset, demonstrating compassionate care for all on a daily basis. These awards are our opportunity to thank them for their outstanding commitment to the people who use our services, to our LPT family, and to the NHS. They are the shining examples of our Trust values of compassion, respect, integrity and trust.

“And while it has been another incredibly busy and challenging year, despite the pressures, our staff and volunteers have continued to deliver high standards. We have much to be proud of and these awards are a testament to what we have achieved.”