Individual finalists

Read about all the incredible finalists shortlisted in each of our individual categories.

Outstanding achievement

This is for someone who has made an outstanding contribution to the Trust and its work. They may have been working for the NHS for a long time or perhaps they have triumphed over adversity – either way, they have achieved something remarkable.

Winner

Janet Watson
Self help advisor
Representing Barnsley BDU

Janet started nursing in 1978 working in primary and secondary care for over 30 years. In 2009, following a series of challenging life experiences including the loss of her husband and her own chronic ill health, Janet began volunteering for the Self Management Service (SMS). Janet is now the driving force of this service for patients, families and carers. In spite of her own clinical vulnerability, Janet supported patients, carers and colleagues through the pandemic, teaching practical skills including breathing techniques, lifestyle advice, identifying triggers and more. Janet used her experience to inform her approach, and now 100% of people say they would recommend the service to others.

Dedicated, passionate, caring

Runner up

Megan Wilson
Nursing associate
Representing CAMHS, learning disabilities, ADHD and autism spectrum conditions

Megan’s nursing associate role was new to the whole team in Wakefield CAMHS, yet she has grabbed the role with both hands and run with it. When it was identified that specific in reach support into the children’s unit was needed, Megan developed a peer support and supervision package to provide within the unit. Megan attended the ward to provide visibility and support staff with any questions, which was initially tricky for staff to attend. However, due to Megan’s consistent supportive approach and providing visibility to staff members the session now runs regularly. Students are now encouraged to attend the session and all staff have a safe space to ask any questions or share experiences.

Kind, caring, honest

Highly commended

Jacob Agoro
Acting assistant director of nursing, quality and professions
Representing corporate services

Jacob’s first job in the NHS was as a porter in a large acute hospital. Since he came into the organisation, he has gone from strength to strength, holding a variety of positions, including mental health practitioner in CAMHS, matron and now as an assistant director. Jacob has demonstrated his ability to find solutions to highly complex problems and situations at pace. He has used his initiative to achieve stability within an unpredictable environment, supporting and providing clinical influence without interference. Jacob demonstrates compassionate leadership on a daily basis, practices with integrity and supports others to understand how adverse life experiences and personal situations can be turned into strengths.

Compassionate, courageous, courteous

Finalists

Dr Sara Davies
Consultant psychiatrist
Representing Calderdale and Kirklees BDU

Sara has worked for many years in Calderdale BDU. She’s an inspirational consultant who’s highly respected by her colleagues, the wider multi-disciplinary team, service leads, trainees, service users and carers. Sara has embraced the Trust’s leadership structure whilst working in Calderdale early intervention in psychosis (EIP), providing invaluable leadership to other members of the trio and her colleagues. This has contributed to the team developing a strong infrastructure, translating to excellent service provision for the people it supports as evidenced by the team’s ‘Top performing’ result in the National EIP Audit. Sara works respectfully with a diverse caseload and is a reflective practitioner, keen to learn and improve which makes her an outstanding consultant.

Approachable, dynamic, knowledgeable

Dr John Chanpakkee
Senior clinical practitioner
Representing forensic BDU

John retired over 10 years ago but returned within weeks and was once again working full time. He is described as a quietly spoken individual who is modest and approachable, and many people in the organisation will know him because of his outstanding support of student nurses. Many people have been supported to pursue continued professional development activity as a direct result of a conversation with John. He is known well in most universities and was one of the first people in the organisation to attain a PhD. His commitment to students and education is very clear and is underpinned by a desire to improve the evidence base to offer better care for service users.

Committed, dedicated, legendary

Claire Wilkinson
Matron
Representing mental health inpatient services

Since Claire began in her post almost two years ago, she has proven herself to be a warm and approachable individual. She is always encouraging and positive in her outlook, and is supportive of her colleagues, regularly lifting their mood if they are feeling low. She encompasses the ethos of the Trust’s values through being a well-balanced individual who puts service users first, and thrives to improve standards of care. She is a teacher, a coach, a trainer and above all human – she treats individuals as unique and individual. She is a good listener and is able to make sense of your situation with a dry sense of humour.

Affable, able and approachable

Len Collett
Mental health practitioner
Representing Wakefield BDU

As part of Len’s work with service users, he has identified an area of significant discrimination affecting client’s ability to access housing provision. To resolve this, he liaised with other teams and compiled a response to relevant agencies including housing providers and the local authority. Len’s continued advocacy for his clients has successfully influenced significant changes in the housing policy which has enabled many more clients to access appropriate housing.

Selfless, dedicated, person-centered

Back to the programme.


Leader of the year

This is for anybody who has excellent leadership skills; they do not need to be in a formal management role. This award recognises the importance of ‘leading from every seat’ in the Trust, inspiring others and taking people with them.

Winner

Stephanie Gibson
Clinical lead nurse
Representing mental health inpatient services

Steph returned to inpatient services from her community based role and joined the team on Stanley Ward in Wakefield. She came back to inpatients at one of the most demanding times ever being faced – COVID, high acuity, and staffing challenges. Steph has been a breath of fresh air on the ward, bringing a positive, can-do attitude and has motivated the team to drive up the quality agenda and improve patient and carer experience. Steph is also a role model for junior staff, taking every opportunity to mentor and teach and encourage others to reach their potential. She is supportive and nurturing but also positively challenges and questions, encouraging others to reflect and grow. Steph herself is continually aiming to improve and be outstanding, and instills this desire in those around her.

Motivating, passionate, dedicated

Runner up

Carmain Gibson-Holmes
Children and Young People Mental Health Provider Collaborative lead
Representing CAMHS, learning disabilities, ADHD and autism spectrum conditions

Carmain has the ability to inspire her colleagues and has a driven passion for Wakefield CAMHS. She aspired to make Wakefield CAMHS a great and safe service for children, young people and their families by putting them at the centre of her work and instilling this in her work with partner agencies. Her leadership skills ensure that colleagues go on the journey with her and support the whole service. Not only does Carmain believe the work of CAMHS, she also believes in the development of the staff team. Carmain skilfully communicates with other professionals, colleagues and families in a manner which can be understood and treats everyone with respect and dignity.

Inclusive, encouraging, caring

Highly commended

Sue Wing
Deputy director of operations
Representing Barnsley BDU

When the need for senior leadership of the vaccination programme came up, Sue’s name was attached immediately in everyone’s minds. Sue was supposed to be working part time and the size of her workload already put this under pressure. To her credit, she recognised the need and agreed to do it for the whole Trust, not just her own area. Sue’s tremendous experience, skills and credibility as a nurse, senior clinical leadership and very senior management meant she was the right person to develop and lead all the work to set up vaccination clinics across all our services from scratch.

Clear, committed, humble

Finalists

Daniel Collins
Team manager
Representing Calderdale and Kirklees BDU

Since the pandemic has started, Danny has put maximum effort into supporting his team, ensuring they continue to deliver safe and effective care, driving them to improve and striving to maintain and improve staff wellbeing. He is forward thinking and always works collaboratively. He supports people in both their personal and professional development, greatly contributing to making the team a great one to be a part of. He consults when change is required and is always keen to hear views and input from service users and carers. He truly follows all of the Trust values with staff, service users and their families at the heart of everything he does. He is a great role model with commendable leadership qualities.

Hard working, passionate, commendable

Kate Dewhirst
Chief pharmacist
Representing corporate services

Kate has been and continues to be an inspirational leader. She leads by example. Her clarity of vision and purpose, alongside her compassion, resilience and ability to motivate has empowered the pharmacy team to provide a continuously high-quality, patient centred service. Kate is always available to the pharmacy team and even throughout the most uncertain and difficult times, she maintained regular communications via Microsoft Teams meetings where she ensures that the team are kept up to date with any relevant updates. She also played a key part in the design and implementation of the Trust COVID-19 vaccination programme. Her compassionate leadership is demonstrated in her presence, support and encouragement which is greatly valued by all of those who work with her.

Compassionate, collaborative, encouraging

Sue Threadgold
Deputy director of operations
Representing forensic BDU

Sue is an inspirational leader who is seen as very approachable and always has time for everybody. She always seems to know the answer to colleagues’ queries or concerns, providing honest and valuable advice, and giving confidence to the staff in the decisions they are making. She cares about the service users and the staff wellbeing and her door is always open, being available if people need to confide or talk to her. She is dedicated and committed to the forensic services and does all of the above balanced against a challenging job as a deputy director, with competing priorities. For Sue, staff and service users come first and foremost.

One in a million

Joanne White
Team manager
Representing Wakefield BDU

Joanne is an approachable, caring and honest manager, allowing staff the ability to work independently and together to manage patients’ outcomes. She offers support and opinions constructively allowing staff to learn and develop in their own professional careers. Joanne also helps staff to manage a work/life balance that allows for stable staff levels and enables staff to work effectively and safely within a crisis environment that can be very emotionally and mentally stressful. Under Joanne’s leadership the team is constantly delivering person centred care in an open, honest and respectful way, with a motive to empower the patient to recover.

Approachable, caring, passionate

Back to the programme.


Outstanding COVID pandemic response (individual)

This award is for someone who excelled personally in response to the Coronavirus pandemic. It could be something that benefitted services, and individuals or provided support or help to those who needed it.

Winner

Alison Thomas
Assistant director of nursing, quality and professions, professional lead for infection prevention and control and physical health care
Representing corporate services

Alison has shown complete and utter dedication to working to ensure our service users and staff have been kept as safe as possible from unnecessary infection and illness associated with COVID-19. Her work has touched on every aspect of the fight against the virus, including teaching on appropriate PPE, ventilation, COVID secure environments, mask fit testing, and establishing test and trace systems and processes. Alison has been the conscience of the organisation, keeping the Trust on track and as safe as possible. Throughout this time, Alison has demonstrated great compassion and leadership, always keeping service users at the heart of her thinking.

Dedicated, compassionate, courageous

Runner up

Jo Crossley
Advanced clinical practitioner (respiratory care) physiotherapist
Representing CAMHS, learning disabilities, ADHD and autism spectrum conditions

Jo is a highly skilled physiotherapist who has demonstrated an outstanding and compassionate response to the COVID pandemic. Jo regularly travels between Barnsley and Calderdale to provide life sustaining treatment to people with learning disabilities and complex health needs. Lockdown prevented services like hydrotherapy from running, so Jo requested that the Trust purchased “vibro vests” to treat service users at home. Jo has supported families when their loved ones have been admitted to ICU with respiratory problems, supported people in their own homes preventing admissions, and provided an essential service throughout the pandemic.

Compassionate, skilled, dedicated

Highly commended

Dean Kenney
Matron admin support
Representing mental health inpatient services

At the start of the pandemic, Dean volunteered to assist the matron team in delivering PPE supplies to frontline services across Barnsley and Wakefield. Dean played a huge part in ensuring frontline services were equipped with the PPE they needed but then took it upon himself to implement a new system of ordering, processing and delivering PPE that was not only implemented across the entire Barnsley and Wakefield localities, but is now used across the entire service within the Trust. Dean is dedicated, always going above and beyond with a friendly manner brightening the day of anyone he comes into contact with.

Selfless, dedicated, caring

 

Finalists

Amy Greetham and Clare Hawkins (joint nomination)
Administrative officers
Representing Barnsley BDU

Amy and Clare have been described as “the heartbeat of the team” and colleagues believe they are lucky to have them in the service. They both went above and beyond and continue to do so during the pandemic, supporting the service to keep functioning. Even though they are exceptionally busy, nothing is too much trouble for them with people who use the service and staff alike. Nominator Rosie Meleady said: “Their commitment needs recognising and they need to be thanked for their contribution to the team and wider Barnsley society.”

Wonderful human beings

Sheridan Wood-Ives
Locality resource support manager – support services
Representing Calderdale and Kirklees BDU

Sheridan works extremely hard and always goes out of her way to ensure her team are supported in the best way possible. Sheridan has had a tough year herself but always ensures that her staff are put first, always putting her heart and soul into her work and accommodating all her staff. She is a great ambassador for the Trust’s values and is understanding of families and carers. Sheridan is forward thinking in her ways of working and tries to ease pressures where she can. She is described as an “excellent line manager” who does her job extremely well.

Honest, caring, supportive

Tracy Hill
Primary care lead nurse
Representing forensic BDU

Tracy has singlehandedly coordinated and administered COVID-19 vaccinations to all of the Trust’s forensic inpatients. She put the person in the centre and ensured each individual had the information they needed to make a decision. She has reduced the risk to service users and staff alike by protecting them from catching and transmitting the virus – all done in addition to her usual role.

Determined, focused, caring

Back to the programme.


Rising star

Recognising anyone who is on the up in their career, whether new into the Trust or in an evolving role. This is for someone who has a bright future in front of them; they can inspire change and are making a real difference.

Winner

Matthew Jordan
Specialist occupational therapist
Representing Wakefield BDU

Matt has extensive skills in helping clients manage anxiety with exposure work to re-engage with day-to-day activities. He has a clear understanding of how being active and having a routine helps to improve mood and increase effectiveness. Matt is also a brilliant group facilitator and has been co-running a therapy group for the past four years. He has been pivotal in enabling this group to prosper and feeds back to the team on which clients will benefit, liaising with medical and care-coordinating colleagues. Matt excels at communicating across the team and his way of speaking helps everyone feel they have an important contribution to make. Matt has a confident manner, is kind and compassionate with clients, and is ready to be trained further to hone his skills even more.

Competent, capable, likeable

Runner up

Jordan Clarke
Speech and language therapy assistant
Representing Barnsley BDU

During the COVID pandemic, as well as continuing her duties as a speech and language assistant, working directly with children through telehealth and face to face, Jordan has been instrumental in driving forward innovation within the service. She has taken a lead role in editing videos for the team’s YouTube channel which was launched during the pandemic as well as supporting with developing a toolkit of resources on the team’s website. Both digital resources have received positive feedback, with the resources receiving national award nominations and being used by professionals across the country. Jordan’s work on the projects demonstrates the values of improving and being outstanding and relevant today and ready for tomorrow through the use of digital technologies to make speech and language therapy more accessible.

Innovative, compassionate, selfless

Highly commended

Iffath Hussain
Change and innovation co-ordinator, physical activity
Representing support services

Iffath leads a project embedding physical activity into the everyday systems and processes of services in Calderdale. Instrumental to the success and progress of the project is Iffath’s drive and determination and her commitment to continually delivering the programme with such passion, energy and enthusiasm. Iffath works closely with services and co-produces ideas with staff to ensure they are implemented. At the heart of Iffath’s approach is her vision that if staff are more physically active and have improved health and wellbeing it enables them to have better conversations with the people they care for to support and encourage them to be more physically active, helping them to reach their potential and live well.

Passionate, dedicated, inclusive

Finalists

Jess Adcock
Mental health practitioner
Representing Calderdale and Kirklees BDU

Jess is described as being “such a positive member of the team”, always with a smile on her face and is willing to go the extra mile to support other people in the team. She is always there to answer any questions the team may have and offer guidance, no matter how busy she might be. Jess is constantly at the forefront of developments to the service to improve their offer, whether it be undertaking a review of our current partnership working or delivering therapeutic group sessions to teenagers.

Positive, energetic, smiley

Ellie Davies
Staff nurse, Newhaven
Representing forensic services

Ellie is a relatively junior member of staff at Newhaven but has proven herself to be incredibly competent, calm and decisive. She has quickly gone from being a student on the ward to a well-respected indispensable member of staff who has a maturity of practice beyond her years. She consistently puts service users first and at the centre and strives to be outstanding. She goes the extra mile to deliver care and is honest, open and respectful in her manner, involving others at all times and asking for help and advice as needed. She provides a focus which drives others forward and is always looking to improve her practice, which means she has quickly won the respect and admiration of service users, staff and carers alike.

Driven, competent, respectful

Jacob Marsden
Health care support worker, Walton ward
Representing mental health inpatient services

Jacob is new to the Trust and has fully embraced the Trust’s values. He takes the time to get to know service users – when he found out one of the service users loved musicals, he set up a movie night for her, meaning she was able to laugh and sing for the first time in a long while. He is eager and happy to help anyone be that staff or service user, he always has a smile on his face and a cheery and kind word for everyone. He believes that everyone deserves high quality care and a kind and listening ear – which he is always willing to provide. Nominator Sandra Butler said: “There needs to be a Jacob on every ward in the Trust!”

Smiley, fabulous, caring

Josie Capel
Learning disability nurse, Kirklees community intensive support team
Representing CAMHS, learning disabilities, ADHD and autism spectrum conditions

Josie joined Kirklees intensive support team in September 2019 after qualifying in learning disability nursing. Her potential and talent were quickly apparent when she completed her preceptorship in record time and evidenced highly person-centred care from the offset. As a newly qualified nurse, she was always able to maintain a calm, compassionate and values-led approach that saw the delivery of fantastic outcomes for individuals. Josie was successful in gaining a band 6 position within one year of qualifying, achieving this based on the positive outcomes for the people the service supports. Josie has gone on to support service users known to the Kirklees service for many years, making a difference to their lives.

Dynamic, values-led, compassionate

Back to the programme.


Unsung hero

Recognising someone who truly lives our values and makes a difference. They may not always get the praise and recognition for what they do; this is your chance to shine a light on their attitude, work and commitment.

Winner

Janette Tatterton
Administrative supervisor and recovery college team secretary
Representing Wakefield BDU

Janette is not only a valued member of the Trust, but she is also a staff carer. Throughout the past two years, Janette has continued to deal with the fast-paced and ever-changing demands of her role, going far beyond the remit of the role to ensure that people are supported, safe and have something meaningful in their lives during a challenging time. On top of this, Janette has continued to be the registered main carer for a family member. Despite this intense demand on her time, wellbeing and at times her own health, she has continued to work tirelessly to ensure the safety and support of the people the team work to help and she has always maintained an incredibly friendly and approachable manner with staff, carers and service users alike. Janette has never let her incredibly challenging home life interfere with her professionalism and enduring recovery-based ethos.

Committed, supportive, strong

Runner up

Gemma Wilson
Security and porter supervisor
Representing forensic services

Gemma supervises the reception team at Newton Lodge; a 24 hour service that has many extremely challenging aspects. Gemma has brought cohesiveness to the team and has inspired them through her own behaviours. She is calm and focused despite all the challenges that the role entails. Her role has many demands and staffing has been a difficult issue. Despite this Gemma has regular supervision with the whole team and creates a sense of everyone being a valued and respected member of the team. She is an inspirational person and an exceptional leader whose caring attitude extends to all who know her. She creates a sense of safety, resilience and togetherness that inspires the team to work tirelessly in a demanding environment.

Compassionate, outstanding, inspiring

Highly commended

Janine Guthrie
Secretary, CAMHS
Representing CAMHS, learning disabilities, ADHD and autism spectrum conditions

Janine has worked for Wakefield CAMHS for 18 years and has a huge knowledge of the service and is a constant source of information and support. She is respectful, open and honest at all times and is always on hand to help her colleagues. Nothing has been too much trouble for Janine over the past year and members of the admin team have expressed their gratitude for the support she has given them when needed. She provides the management team and her colleagues with any support they need – even though this goes way above her grade. She never complains and just does everything she can to provide support when it is needed. This is hugely appreciated by all at Wakefield CAMHS and has helped keep the service running smoothly during a very difficult year.

Reliable, supportive, dedicated

Finalists

Angela Dyson
Healthcare assistant, district nursing
Representing Barnsley BDU

Angela is the embodiment of a team player who has made an outstanding contribution to the district nursing team. District nursing is modernising and evolving to meet the challenges of an ageing population with limited resources. had embraced these changes, showing aptitude with system changes. She has taken it upon herself to support staff within the team by working with team members to ensure patient needs were met in a timely fashion and supporting staff. Angela possesses a genuine interest in the welfare of others and is the first to lend a hand to struggling team members. Her positive attitude combined with her general willingness to support others and go that extra mile is a rare quality.

Outstanding, team player

Audra Braithwaite
Occupational therapy technical instructor
Representing Calderdale and Kirklees

Audra retired in 2022 having worked in the Trust her whole career. She is extremely driven and incredibly knowledgeable in the field of occupational therapy with a passion for learning and developing. Audra has been a supportive mentor to staff and students over the years and an invaluable role model. She values the importance of working with family and carers and will consider their needs throughout. Having worked in occupational therapy for approximately thirty years, there is little that Audra does not know. Patients consistently speak highly of Audra and it is clear to the occupational therapy team that she makes a huge difference to the patient experience.

Committed, inspiring, wise

Christine Smith
Personal secretary to the chief pharmacist
Representing corporate services

Christine supports the pharmacy team across the whole of the organisation. Her support is not just work related, so many of the team look to Christine for emotional support too. Christine manages diaries, takes minutes and notes, prompts the team for actions, and juggles an incredible amount of requests for admin support. She does all this with kindness, cheerfulness and efficiency. What makes Christine extra special is that she has significant caring responsibilities which means she rarely gets a full night’s sleep and is constantly on alert. She never lets this affect the quality of her work or her compassion for others. Her team believe she deserves recognition for the contribution she makes not just to pharmacy, but to the whole of the organisation.

Strong, dedicated, compassionate

Anthony Payne
Occupational therapy assistant
Representing mental health inpatient services

Anthony puts patients and service users first, going above and beyond to help them participate in meaningful activities, facilitating their interests and always treating staff and service users respectfully and kindly. Anthony has been responsible for the creation of several pieces of artwork in the Oakwell Centre in Barnsley, including the recovery wall on Beamshaw Ward and a recovery tree in the Redfearn Suite – all of which have been collaboratively designed and created with patients. He has worked at The Dales, where he took the lead in getting a kiln and taught pottery sessions. He is known throughout the Trust’s therapy services as a hardworking and highly valued member of the team.

Hardworking, passionate, caring

Back to the programme.


Chair and chief executive’s award

Winner
Iffath Hussain
Back to the programme.

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