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.