NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde has celebrated the success of staff working in services provided to patients across the West of Scotland.
Four winners were named at the annual Regional Services awards, including a Senior Charge Nurse at the Beatson cancer centre, and staff working in mental health care.
In total there were 35 nominations – double that of last year – coming from every area of Regional Services including cancer care, plastics, forensic mental health and neurology.
Susan Groom, Director of Regional Services for NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, said the number of nominees demonstrates the “strength and depth of talent and effort” across the organisation.
Lorna Welsh, an Advanced Clinical Nurse Specialist working in Haematology at the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital, was named Employee of the Year.
She acts as a first point of contact for patients who’ve had bone marrow transplants and was praised for continually going “above and beyond” for those she cares for as well as her colleagues.
The service includes patients from across 12 Scottish health board areas, ranging in age and needs. Lorna’s expertise is often called upon from national and international organisations, including European Bone Marrow Transplant and the Anthony Nolan charity.
This year’s Innovation prize went to staff at the Institute for Neurological Sciences who have been using a pioneering mixed reality (MR) system that allows them to “see inside” a patient’s body during surgery.
The MR goggles and system, known as the Magic Leap, are used by Consultant Neurosurgeon and Complex Spine Surgeon Mohamed Abdelsadg and colleagues to make surgeries less invasive and more accurate, minimising damage to other tissue.
The team were said to have “demonstrated remarkable dedication to advancing patient care by embracing cutting-edge technologies” that help to enhance precision.
Meanwhile, the Elder Ward nursing team at Rowanbank Clinic were praised for the care shown to patients as they were awarded Team of the Year.
Colleagues who nominated the team highlighted their compassion and told how they were “consistently amazed at the strength and resilience shown” including the innovative and individualised ways they engage with patients.
The Leader of the Year prize went to Lynsey Watt, Senior Charge Nurse in the Beatson’s B1 ward for Gynaecology and skin cancer patients.
She was described as having a “positive, can-do attitude”, with colleagues saying Lynsey’s dedication to person-centred care is significant and spans everyone she interacts with including patients, families and colleagues.
Lynsey was also praised for ensuring Wet Wet Wet star Marti Pellow visited the ward to meet one of her patients, who couldn’t get out of bed, when he was at the Beatson recently to raise awareness of breast cancer symptoms.
An overall winner for the Regional Services category will be announced at NHSGGC’s Celebrating Success Awards in May.
NHSGGC Regional Services Director Susan Groom said: “Our annual Regional Services staff awards for Regional Services are a perfect opportunity to showcase and celebrate the amazing work our staff do.
“Their dedication helps to improve patient care and benefits their colleagues.
“I’m especially pleased that we had nominations from every part of Regional Services, and double the number received last year.
“This shows the strength and depth of talent and effort that we have across the whole organisation, and I’m delighted we were able to recognise this.”
