The stars shine on Royal Surrey’s award-winning staff | News

It was a starry night for Royal Surrey Staff on Thursday 23 November 2023 who were recognised for their outstanding contributions to the Trust and patients.

This year 426 nominations were received from Royal Surrey colleagues and 116 nominations from patients in our Patients’ Choice category. A panel of 12 judges had the challenging task of whittling down these nominations from 16 categories to 47 finalists who attended the awards ceremony held at Guildford Cathedral.

The Patients’ Choice category received two awards. The individual award was presented to Anna McGuire, an Oesophago-gastric Clinical Nurse Specialist.

Anna was nominated by one of her patients for providing overwhelming support, advice and encouragement during what was otherwise a dark period for the patient. She was described as having “manner of reassurance that makes you feel anything can be sorted”. On the nomination form, her patient said:

“I am eternally grateful for the care that I have received from everyone at Royal Surrey, but the support, advice and encouragement that Anna provided during an especially dark period was overwhelming. She is simply priceless.”

The second Patients’ Choice Award was presented to the Teenage and Young Adult Cancer team. The team, which was nominated by six patients, was commended for “providing unwavering support to patients and their families during the most difficult times of their lives” and “making the hospital environment warm and welcoming, reducing patients' anxiety around treatment”. Further comments from their patients included:

“Every single member of the team goes above and beyond. Professional yet extremely friendly, loving and caring. Devoted not only to the patient but to the patient's family and future.”

“I wouldn’t have gotten through this awful time without them and always leave [the hospital] feeling a little lighter, with a smile.”

This year, a special award, the Chief Executive and Chair’s Award was presented to Charlotte Morley, Lead Emergency Practitioner at the Trust’s Minor Injuries Unit. Charlotte received six different nominations across four categories and has played a central role in transforming the Minor Injuries Unit over the last 12-18 months. She has been an instrumental part of the Minor Injuries Team, which also received multiple nominations.

The event was fully funded through sponsorship. The Trust would like to thank all its sponsors and, in particular, its two headline sponsors and trusted suppliers. Medirest, who sponsored the Clinical Team of the Year award, presented to the Enhanced Supportive Care team and CBRE, who sponsored the Rising Star Award, awarded to Shelley Dulwich, TB Support Worker/Healthcare Assistant.

Medirest works in partnership with the Trust to deliver vital support services, including portering, domestics and catering. Their specialist service team takes care of much of our Trust’s soft facilities management needs.

CBRE, a global leader in property and facilities management services offers services to a large portfolio of companies including healthcare, through facilities management, project management, advisory and transaction services. Every day, our Trust benefits from property solutions that reduce cost and risk, better manage our space and improve productivity.