Celebrating NHS heroes in Wakefield

The local provider of specialist NHS services in Wakefield has held a celebratory event to recognise members of staff who have been named an NHS Hero.

The NHS Heroes initiative was introduced by the former health secretary Andrew Lansley to recognise NHS staff who go the extra mile and to help mark 64 years of the NHS.

NHS Heroes was designed to give everyone in England the chance to acknowledge NHS staff, and for the first time, patients, their friends and families, work colleagues and professional peers could nominate their personal NHS Heroes.

To celebrate their heroes South West Yorkshire Partnership NHS Foundation Trust held a special event at Dean Clough Halifax with presentations made by the Trust’s Chair Ian Black.

Among the 56 individuals and teams recognised was the customer services team. The team were described as “extolling the values of good customer service. They offer a service which is always welcoming, respectful, helpful and informative, and are responsive to the needs of both service users and staff. Their solutions focussed approach is an example to all.”

Also nominated as a hero in Wakefield was senior nurse in leaning disability services Jo Harrison, who was described as “a hardworking and passionate lady committed to learning disability nursing. She gives her all to achieve the best outcome for every client and consistently offers support, guidance and advice to colleagues. She puts everyone before herself.”

Chief executive Steven Michael said, “NHS Heroes is a celebration of the very best in the NHS. We see day in day out the dedication our 4,700 staff give to the NHS to ensure the best quality care and experience for people who use our services. It was great to see a range of staff nominated from those providing customer services to those providing medical care- their dedication and commitment keeps the NHS running smoothly.”