Umesh awarded Chief Nurse of England silver award
A special award was handed out to our Associate Director of Nursing, Umesh Cheerassery last week.
He was awarded the Chief Nurse of England silver award by the Deputy Chief Nurse of England Duncan Burton on behalf of Dame Ruth May, CNO of England.
This very rare and special award is in recognition of Umesh’s work both in the Trust and his charity work.
Umesh has been working at Royal Surrey since 2002 and was one of four nurses to join as part of the first overseas recruitment campaign from India.
He has had many different roles and has worked his way up the ranks, starting out working in surgery and moving through the nursing grades to become a senior charge nurse.
He is now the Associate Director of Nursing for Medicine and Access.
Umesh said: “I’m so grateful for the nomination. It’s like a great recognition of my dedication to nursing . I am so happy. It was a shock and definitely a surprise.
“I love my job, Royal Surrey is like my second home.”
Umesh was nominated by Chief Nurse Jo Mountjoy, who said he provides inspirational talks about his journey to the UK and the challenges he faced leaving India for a better life to seek out the opportunities the UK had to offer.
Jo congratulated Umesh on his award. She said: “This award is really well-deserved and we are extremely proud that Umesh has received recognition for his dedication, commitment and hard work. Well done, it’s a fabulous achievement!”
Umesh has also supported staff with a BAME and LGBTQ background to progress their careers at the Trust.
He is a senior member of the Aldershot Malayalee Association and has in the past supported those affected by natural disasters such as flooding in Kerala.
In the nomination by Jo Mountjoy, it said: “Umesh’s ongoing goal is always to act as a role model to influence our nurses to be the best they can be and to support them in their career journey.
“Umesh continues to have a hugely successful career at Royal Surrey, always striving to achieve and always recognising the potential in others and he is, in our eyes, a true advocate for nursing.”