ECCH Awards Recognise Staff Achievements
East Coast Community Healthcare’s Primary Care Home teams were named Clinical Team of the Year at the organisation’s Staff Awards event in recognition of the care they provide for patients in their own homes across Great Yarmouth and Waveney.
It was one of seventeen awards presented to celebrate the staff of the social enterprise as well as its subsidiary companies and partners within the local NHS system.
ECCH has four PCH teams made up of nurses and therapists from a wide range of disciplines, who work alongside social care colleagues to offer personalised care in patients’ own homes and avoid them having a hospital stay. They support four groups of GP practices covering Lowestoft, Great Yarmouth and the northern villages, Gorleston and South Waveney.
On presenting the award at the Ivy House Country Hotel in Oulton Broad, ECCH Chief Executive Ian Hutchison said: “Throughout the pandemic these teams demonstrated extraordinary commitment and resilience, going into people’s homes to ensure patients continued to receive appropriate care. Their role continues to evolve and expand to support the growing need for care outside of acute hospitals, to patients with increasingly complex needs and, no matter what the challenge, they support each other with a positive outlook, always striving to deliver the highest quality care possible.”
The Non-Clinical Team of the Year award went to ECCH’s Waveney Administrative Team. They are the first port of call for patients at Beccles Intermediate Care Unit’s reception area, and also provide the support which enables their clinical colleagues to concentrate on delivering face-to-face patient care.
The award for Delivering Exceptional Care was given to Heart Failure Nurse Specialist Joanne Hayles who has developed a ‘Patient Passport’ and service information packs to help patients better understand and manage their conditions.
The winner of the Patient Choice Award was Paula Baker, a Specialist Nurse with the Cardiac Rehabilitation team. This award was based on the amount of compliments and positive feedback by service users for an individual clinician.
The Innovation Award was won by Occupational Therapist Abigail Newsome for her contribution to the launch of a new continuous service improvement programme.
Jade Wilson won the Emerging Talent award. Jade began her career with ECCH in a clinical role before seeking project management experience which proved so successful she now has a full time Project Co-ordinator post.
Specialist Physiotherapist and Stroke Team Lead, Anne-Marie Gaul, was awarded the title of Inspirational Leader in recognition of her passion for her work and ability to motivate her colleagues and create a positive working environment.
Health Connector Valerie Manning received the Making a Difference Award after she helped access appropriate support for a number of vulnerable patients, including someone who was homeless and a patient with safeguarding concerns at home.
The Unsung Hero award was shared by Wheelchair Service Co-ordinator Julie Tobutt and Night Service Staff Nurse Jane Smith, in recognition of their commitment to their services and the support they give to colleagues.
The Star of the Year Award was won by Estates and Facilities site co-ordinator Liz Cable for her work leading the Domestic and Catering Service at Beccles Intermediate Care Unit, and the award for ECCH Champion was presented to MSK Physiotherapist Suzanne Blowers who, on top of her busy clinical caseload, uses her role as a Clinical Educator to provide support for students.
The Chair’s award was presented by ECCH Interim Chairman John Niland to the Systems Support Team who have helped to introduce many new digital initiatives in recent years which benefit both staff and patients. These include online e-referral for physiotherapy patients, a new patient record-keeping system and turning Minsmere Ward at Beccles Intermediate Care Unit into a paperless ward.
As well as awards for ECCH staff, three Partnership Awards were given to colleagues from partner organisations who have been instrumental in helping ECCH implement collaborative projects and ways of working. These were awarded to Emma Bray, ICS Head of Urgent, Emergency & Integrated Care (East Locality) from Norfolk and Waveney ICB, Tracie Bitters, Corporate Lead Nurse at the James Paget University Hospital and Andrew Butcher, Head of Service Improvement Partnerships at Norfolk Community Health and Care NHS Trust.
Two awards were given to staff at Cavell Healthcare, the domiciliary care provider which ECCH took over a year ago. Field Care Supervisor Charmain McGinty won Care Worker of the Year and Care Manager Laura Panter won the Outstanding Contribution Award.
Maintenance Technician Grant Burwood received an Outstanding Contribution award for the difference he makes to his team at East Point Business Services, another subsidiary of ECCH.
A special award was also presented to former ECCH Chair Tony Osmanski who ended his term at ECCH in September after leading the Board of the social enterprise since 2017.
Interim Chair John Niland said: “It’s wonderful to be able to celebrate all our staff, whether they’re in clinical posts or office-based roles. These awards single out a few individuals who have shown exceptional ability but they really represent all our staff and the amazing work they do every day to serve the people of Norfolk and Waveney.”
A total of £1,000 was raised through ticket sales for the event. ECCH’s Shareholder Council, which represents the 77% of staff who hold a share in the staff-owned organisation, will choose local charities to benefit from the money.
About the author
ECCH Communications team