Kind, Connected and Bold Award winners

Good Hope Hospital

Emily Williamson, Staff Nurse, Intensive Care Unit, Critical Care 

For Emily’s kindness and empathy. Emily supports patients’ relatives with grace and genuine warmth. She regularly takes on students and new starters, investing time and care to help them build confidence and develop safe, high quality critical care skills. 

Wendy Shelley, Nurse, Emergency Medicine 

Nominated by a patient, who said: “I attended the emergency department due to facial injuries sustained during a fall. Wendy immediately took control of the situation and sensing my distress ensured I was supported. She made me feel confident and well looked after.”  

Dawn Turner, Housekeeping Assistant, Facilities 

For going above and beyond every day. Dawn brings in newspapers every morning for stroke patients, supporting their rehabilitation and offering companionship. She cleans the ward to an outstanding level and makes a consistent effort to maintain a clean, safe environment and have warm interactions with patients and colleagues. 

Dr Adam Ijaz Ali, Doctor, Respiratory Medicine 

Nominated by a colleague, who said: “Adam is a beacon of brilliance wrapped in compassion. Nurses adore him for his genuine kindness and unshakeable calm under pressure. Adam has guided a nervous intern through a complex diagnosis with calmness. In emergencies, his skill is unmatched.” 

Heartlands Hospital

Alice Santhosh, Sister, Critical Care 

Nominated by a colleague, who said: “Alice has been a constant presence in my working life since my first week at UHB. Any day with her feels safer, calmer, and I feel more supported. She is bold in her knowledge and clinical confidence, always willing to teach and uplift others through education and guidance.” 

Vanessa Ford, Education Support Worker, Education Training and Development 

For Vanessa’s friendly and kind nature. Vanessa goes above and beyond to ensure the best outcomes for everyone. She supports colleagues and empowers them through kindness, encouragement and guidance.   

Neill Belijapa, Healthcare Assistant, Trauma and Orthopaedics 

Nominated by a colleague, who said: “Neil has blown me away as a manager by his superb patient care, bedside manner, teamwork and compassion for his duties. I have received many patient compliments about his hard work.”  

Samantha Butterworth, Nurse, Thoracic, Vascular 

For Samantha going out of her way to help and support colleagues, even when busy. Samantha cares about the wellbeing of her colleagues and boosts staff morale. She is compassionate and caring. 

Discharge and Outpatient Pharmacy Team 

For the team’s incredible hard work to ensure patients receive their medication and can be discharged. The team is very good at identifying potential issues with prescriptions, which they communicate with the clinical team to make sure patients receive the right medication. They work well under pressure. 

Queen Elizabeth Hospital

Renal Transplant Recipient Coordinator Team 

Nominated by a colleague, who said: “The team works tirelessly to facilitate and coordinate our deceased donor kidney transplants. In February, we transplanted six renal transplants in one day. This is a joint national record and a record number of transplants for UHB.” 

Renal Theatres and Anaesthesia Team, Renal Surgery 

Nominated by a colleague, who said: “A living organ donation between family members was planned, however, after the organ was removed from the donor, the recipient became acutely unwell. This threatened the ability to transplant the organ. The whole team pulled together to initially stabilise the patient and work through all available options which led to the organ being successfully transplanted.” 

Brachytherapy Team

Nominated by a patient, who said: “The team works in a very busy department and have a tough job, but every single person I met was kind, patient, compassionate and showed me genuine care at all times. Their positivity during my treatment definitely helped keep my spirits up and make the experience a little less daunting.” 

Gina Griffiths, Sister, Stroke Medicine 

Nominated by a patient, who said: “The care I received from all the medical staff was excellent. Every member of staff was extremely prompt, caring, professional and attentive. Gina stood out by showing exceptional professional skills and high standards. She made me feel at ease during a stressful time, understanding my clinical issues with kindness.” 

Sulaimaan Khan, Imaging Department Assistant, Radiology 

For Sulaimaan’s kindness and positive energy. Sulaimaan goes above and beyond on areas such as building team cohesion and lifting department morale. He creates a warm, inclusive and positive atmosphere for his colleagues. 

Sarah Wheatley, Senior Healthcare Assistant, Skin Oncology, Dermatology 

For Sarah’s incredible support of her colleagues in the melanoma team. Sarah supports her team by coordinating blood results, chasing scans and liaising with other hospitals. She has a patient centred approach to care and receives positive feedback from patients.   

Ross Edgar, Senior Physiotherapist, and Jude Starkey, Senior Physiotherapist, Specialist Medicine, Therapy Services 

Nominated by a patient’s relative, who said: “Ross and Jude have both shown such compassion and care to me and my husband during his lengthy and complex stay. They both took time to explain everything and answer our many questions. They went above and beyond to ensure we both knew what was happening.” 

CDG 9B Senior Management Team 

Nominated by a colleague, who said: “Having worked in theatres for most of my career, the dynamic approach of our senior management team is impressive. They are all accessible, decisive, supportive, collaborative and compassionate. With their continuous support the cultural transformation has improved significantly across both theatres and intensive care.”  

Solihull Hospital

Avtar Sehjal, Healthcare Assistant, Enhanced Peri-Operative Care Unit, Theatres 

For Avtar’s friendly and hardworking nature. Avtar is knowledgeable and has used his experience to train colleagues and help students who are not familiar with tasks such as catheter care. He is very personable and caring with patients and colleagues. 

Gurmeet Kaur, Oculoplastic Clinical Nurse Specialist, Ophthalmology 

For Gurmeet’s exceptional dedication to work and compassionate patient care. Gurmeet is kind to patients and colleagues, always taking the time to listen and support those around her. She puts patient care at the forefront, going above and beyond to make sure that patients are taken care of. 

Ward 12, General Surgery 

Nominated by a patient, who said: “This team has supported me through my latest operation, for which I had to be taken back to theatre three days after the operation. Every member of staff was supportive, caring, compassionate and I was never left alone while being scared, in pain and worried.” 

Community

Sophie Cassidy, Community Nutrition Support Dietitian, Dietetics, Solihull Hospital and Community Services 

Nominated by a colleague, who said: “Sophie has worked tirelessly as part of the team towards putting new processes in place. The efforts and bold approach that Sophie has taken has had a direct impact on our patient waiting times and team dynamics.” 

Amy Griffith, Physiotherapist, Solihull Urgent Community Response and Virtual Wards, Solihull Hospital and Community Services 

For Amy’s incredible support of staff wellbeing. Amy suggested the implementation of a split triaging shift which has been implemented permanently. She always goes above and beyond in projects and has created a falls retrieval Moodle training package which has been extremely beneficial. 

Corporate

Emma Wilson, Mental Health Act Administrator, Corporate Nursing, Heartlands Hospital 

For Emma going above and beyond to support patients and colleagues. Emma has a friendly can-do attitude and has recently received really positive feedback from colleagues. She supports ward areas with patients who are detained under the Mental Health Act in a very capable manner. 

 Kate Hamilton, Clinical Educator, Education, Queen Elizabeth Hospital 

For Kate’s excellent leadership, role modelling and clinical skills. Kate has been praised by students in her recent evaluations. One said: “Kate was approachable and supportive whilst I was on placement. She gave me opportunities to further my knowledge and gain experience.”  

Kelly Gilmartin, Deputy Medical Engineering Manager, Medical Engineering, Queen Elizabeth Hospital 

For going the extra mile to make sure everyone is supported. Kelly has a natural ability to make everyone around him feel seen, valued and cared for with genuine and consistent kindness. He plays a pivotal role in leading and supporting colleagues to actively tailor care in ways that are responsive, compassionate and person-centred. 

Emily Slater, Senior Financial Management Assistant, Finance, Regent Court and Yardley Court 

For arranging two wellbeing afternoon tea events for her department.  Emily baked and purchased items for the event and her attention to the small but meaningful details demonstrates kindness and true leadership. She has created a sense of community within her team that has had a lasting impact of the team’s morale and cohesion.  

Operational Performance Team, Operational Performance, Solihull Hospital and Community Services 

Nominated by a colleague, who said: “The team has completed a period of sprint validation; a 12 week period in which the Trust is asked to deliver significantly more validations compared to the previous year. The overall waiting list has been reduced significantly and a direct result of their hard work.” 

Research and Development 

Alison Hardy, Cancer Research Nurse, Medical Innovation Development Research Unit, Research and Development, Heartlands Hospital 

Nominated by a colleague, who said: “Over Alison’s career she has led many studies and had a patient who made the tough decision to stop treatment after being on a cancer study for seven years. The patient said: ‘Alison is always positive, cheered me up when I was grumpy or feeling down and I’ve always looked at her as a friend as much as a very professional nurse.” 

Women’s and Children’s

Laura Evans, Midwife, Maternity Assessment Centre, Obstetrics, Good Hope Hospital 

Nominated by a patient, who said: “I went into hospital for reduced movements and Laura made me feel at ease and make sure everything was more than okay. She made my delivery so calm, and I felt excited and at ease during birth. She also stayed after her shift ended to deliver my baby, knowing it was going to go over her shift.” 

Dr Nimasari Ginige, Doctor, Paediatrics, Good Hope Hospital 

Nominated by a colleague, who said: “I have worked with Nima while doing bloods or cannulas on children and young people. Nima talks to the child or young person before, during and after the procedure in a calming way which puts them and their patient or carer at ease.”