Healthcare staff and volunteers celebrate as NHS turns 70
On the day the NHS celebrated its 70th birthday local health care provider South Warwickshire NHS Foundation Trust (SWFT) have recognised how their staff and volunteers contribute to this important milestone.
Held on 5 July to coincide with national celebrations, the Trust’s Annual Members Meeting provided an opportunity to present awards to staff. These awards highlighted how the NHS’ most important resource, its people, have helped provide world class care to patients since its creation in 1948.
Trust Chairman Russell Hardy presented three ‘Going the Extra Mile’ (GEM) Awards, recognising both a clinical and non-clinical member of staff as well as a team for going above and beyond their roles.
- Clinical winner – Eva Buxton
- Non-clinical winner – Dawn Collins
- Team winner – Malins Ward team
As well as the GEM Awards, the Trust presented Innovation Awards. For the year the NHS celebrates its history, the special Innovation Awards have encouraged staff to share ideas that will help to improve care of the future. The response was brilliant with lots of innovative ideas submitted, making the task of picking a winner and runner up a difficult one.
- Winner - Janet Sidgwick
- Runner up - Dr. Alexandra Shields & Dr. Inayah Zaheen
Trust Medical Director Dr Charles Ashton, who presented the awards said:
“The NHS has changed considerably since its inception and this evolution has helped it remain as one of the best healthcare systems in the world. We hope to celebrate many more of its birthdays in future and to do this we need to continue to find new and improved ways of providing care. Our staff do this every day so the Innovation Awards are a way of tapping in to this expertise.”
Events to mark the occasion were also held across the rest of the organisation. Directors visited Trust hospitals and clinics where staff and patients enjoyed tea parties. Trust Podiatrist and Union Representative Sue Pike, who helped to organise an event at Warwick Hospital, said:
“It has been fantastic to celebrate the NHS’ 70th birthday with some games, lots of nostalgia and of course, a bit of cake. The staff and volunteers do a great job so it is really nice to recognise this and reflect on how much our health service means to us all.”
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