Guy’s and St Thomas’ honours outstanding staff

Guy’s and St Thomas’ have honoured their outstanding staff, who go above and beyond in caring for patients, families, and supporting one another, in the first Trust Awards since the pandemic.

Thanks to support from Guy’s & St Thomas’ Charity, colleagues celebrated the Trust Awards finalists and winners in a glittering ceremony which recognised staff from across the Trust’s 5 hospitals and multiple community sites.

Celebrity host and member of staff, Dr Ranj Singh, kicked off the evening and introduced award presenters who revealed the well-deserved winners across a range of categories. To do this, executive directors were joined on stage by other colleagues who play key roles across the Trust, including network leads, speak up champions, reverse mentors, housekeepers and nursing associates.

The extra special award on the night from the Chairman and Chief Executive went to the administrative teams who work tirelessly across the Trust. They play a vital role in making sure patients get their care as quickly as possible and provide essential support to front-line services.

The people’s award was given to staff who were nominated by patients and members of the public and was presented by local MP Florence Eshalomi. Perinatal imaging midwives took home the team award for always putting their patients first and making sure they have the necessary support in place. Dr Aamir Amin, clinical fellow in cardiothoracic surgery, won the individual award after receiving a whopping 77 nominations from his patients – including one who said: “the NHS needs more doctors like him”.

Paediatric intensive care and South Thames Retrieval Service were crowned winners of the ‘take pride in what we do’ award. These teams have outstanding reputations for their wonderful care of babies, children, young people and families when most needed. For many families, their child recovers. However, for others, these teams come together to offer support and compassion during some of their most difficult moments when a child dies. One family praised their continuous dedication and said: “We wish with all our hearts we never needed to meet, however, we wanted to thank you all. For the rest of our days we will remember the empathy and love we felt in those last hours.”

Professor Ian Abbs, Chief Executive of Guy’s and St Thomas’, said: “We have been through a huge amount together and achieved so much since our last Trust awards in 2018. Colleagues across the Trust have demonstrated their expertise, dedication and compassion at every step of the way, alongside delivering incredible care to our patients. Thank you for everyone’s continued exceptional hard work and dedication.

“Congratulations to everyone who was nominated and won an award. I would like to particularly highlight our brilliant admin teams who won the Chairman and Chief Executive award. These colleagues have been at the heart of everything we have done in recent years, including our response to the pandemic, industrial action, and the launch of our electronic health record.”

Florence Eshalomi, MP for Vauxhall, said: “It was a huge honour to be asked to present the people’s award and to take the opportunity to thank all of the staff at Guy’s and St Thomas’ for their commitment in providing exceptional care to the people of Lambeth, Southwark and further afield during a challenging few years.”

Dr Ranj said: “Guy’s and St Thomas’ is somewhere that I have spent a lot of time – as a medical student back in 1997, my junior doctor training was at Evelina London Children’s Hospital, and now I work in their children’s A&E as a locum consultant. I consider myself extremely privileged and fortunate to have been trained by and worked amongst some of the best, most hard-working and dedicated people in the country. The Trust and its staff have a very special place in my heart, so it was fantastic to be able to celebrate and appreciate everyone.”

A huge congratulations to all of the award winners.

Award categories and winners

Put patients first

An individual or team that has done something exceptional for our patients.

Winners

• Team: Hedley Atkins occupational therapy and nursing teams
• Individual: Julie Graham, porter at Guy's Hospital

Value everybody

An individual or team that has championed the importance of valuing everybody - either by working to reduce health inequalities or by promoting equality and inclusion in the workplace.

Winners

• Team: children's eye department
• Individual: Riadian Power, service manager for Lambeth children's community services.

Take pride in what we do

An individual or team that has truly excelled in delivering services of the highest standard.

Winners

• Team: paediatric intensive care and South Thames Retrieval Service
• Individual: Jodie Spyrou, clinical lead of the amputee rehabilitation unit

Respect others

An individual or team that has shown the utmost kindness and respect to colleagues, patients or others.

Winners

• Team: St Thomas’ portering team
• Individual: Rachel Kesse Adu, clinical lead for haematology and the sickle cell team

Improve, innovate and learn

An individual or team that has demonstrated an outstanding contribution to quality improvement, innovation, education or research.

Winners

• Team: Lambeth theatre HIT list team
• Individual: Stephanie Tyler, sexual and reproductive health pharmacist

Strive to be the best

An individual or team that has gone above and beyond.

Winners

• Team: Sir Reginald Wilson ward, digital champion nursing team
• Individual: Harsha Naik, photosensitivity practitioner

Act with integrity

An individual or team that has led by example and helped create the very special culture we have at Guy's and St Thomas'.

Winners

• Team: laryngology consultants
• Individual: Joanne Ampah, targeted lung healthcheck flow coordinator

People's award

Patient or public nomination for an individual or team that has provided outstanding patient care or delivered exceptional service.

Winners

• Team: perinatal imaging midwives
• Individual: Aamir Amin, clinical fellow in cardiothoracic surgery

Charity award

An individual or team that has gone above and beyond to fundraise, volunteer or support our charities. There is an award to recognise staff who’ve supported our Guy's and St Thomas' Charities and one to recognise our Royal Brompton & Harefield Hospitals Charity.

Winners

• Guy's & St Thomas' Charity: Raselle Miller, staff clinical psychologist
• Royal Brompton & Harefield Hospitals Charity: Royal Brompton and Harefield arts team