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It's been an eventful year for Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust. Despite numerous challenges, the staff across all hospitals within the Trust have remained focussed on providing excellent patient care. While doing so, they have also been recognised for their achievements with awards celebrated throughout the year. As the year draws to a close, we look back at some of the accolades won by the Trust and its staff.

 

Heart team nationally recognised for providing best care for patients

A team based at the world-renowned Essex Cardiothoracic Centre (CTC) at Basildon Hospital, were recognised by an official body for the high-quality care they provide to patients.  

The British Society of Echocardiography (BSE), which represents clinical echocardiography professionals, accredited the echocardiology, or ‘echo’, department, for their success in showing high quality standards in their images and reports, hygiene, patient comfort and safety, and using modern, well-maintained equipment.

Margaret Long, Professional Service Manager for cardiac physiology said: "This accreditation means that patients can be reassured that they are being cared for in a nationally recognised department which shows we have a well-organised, safe and high-performing team. Achieving this has been a collective effort and dedication involving many staff from physiology, Thames ward and consultant cardiologists.”

 

Region’s first legacy Midwife named Midwife of the Year

A midwife with almost 40 years NHS experience was recognised as Midwife of the Year by East of England Maternity Services.

Jenny Crane, from Wakering, received the award a year after starting a completely new role as Legacy Midwife for Southend Hospital, part of Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust. It means she is now supervising, supporting and handing over her career insights to student midwives, providing an opportunity to transfer skills and expertise to others and inspire the next generation of midwives.

Jenny said: “This award is made even more special as I was the first Legacy Midwife in the East of England, so being recognised for the value and expertise that I bring to the next generation of midwives is fantastic. It was a huge shock to learn of my win, but the real honour has been knowing that I’ve made a huge positive difference in the lives of student midwives and newly qualified midwives, which helps improve the care we give to patients, which is reward enough in itself.”

 

Centre of Excellence helping heart condition patients leave hospital sooner received award

A pioneering procedure that has already helped over 100 patients with irregular heartbeats leave hospital more quickly after surgery was recognised with an award in the summer.

The award was given to the Essex Cardiothoracic Centre (CTC), part of the Trust, by the Atrial Fibrillation (AF) Association at the Palace of Westminster in June this year.

It now means that the Essex CTC, where the procedure was a UK first, has been recognised globally as a Centre of Excellence for the condition, which is an abnormality in the rhythm of the heart which affects approximately 2-4% of adults.

Rhoel Peralta, Catheter Lab Associate Practitioner, who wrote the case study that won the award, said: "Our efforts and success prove that we can all play our part for patients and make a difference, and this acknowledgment reinforces our commitment to providing exceptional care to our patients. We are thrilled to be recognised as a Centre of Excellence and AF Healthcare Pioneers. I am part of a much larger team where everyone came together and worked tirelessly.”

 

Outstanding training award means patients are receiving the ‘best care’

A Training Hospital of the Year award has been given to a department at Broomfield Hospital in recognition for its outstanding performance in training future consultants.

It was given to the hospital’s Orthopaedic Department, by the Royal London Hospital Orthopaedic Trauma Society, after the extraordinary feedback trainees learning at the hospital had given.

Positive learning experiences are something patient care directly benefits from, as Hilary Bosman, Orthopaedic Consultant and Assigned Educational Supervisor at the hospital, which is part of Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust, explained.

She said: “This award reflects on our commitment to excellence and our focus on good quality training, and that quality leads to an improvement in our service, which is fantastic news for our patients as we are training people who are giving them the best care possible.”

 

Award-winners: healthcare employment support programme bagged national prize

A scheme that helps residents to start work and gain skills in healthcare won a national award following its nomination by local Members of Parliament.

The Anchor Ambition programme, run by Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust, has won the national Health Equalities prize in the NHS Parliamentary Awards. This recognises organisations who have helped to reduce inequalities in healthcare and prevent ill health in their community.

The Anchor programme provides training, skills and help for eligible local people applying to jobs in the NHS and healthcare across mid and south Essex. Participants receive personal and intensive support designed to help them secure work that works for them.

Kevin Garrod, Anchor Programme manager at Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust, said: “At the heart of the anchor programme is supporting people who never thought that the NHS was a place for them to work and thrive. The aspiration of this programme is shared with the ambitions of the NHS Workforce Plan, to widen participation and create opportunities for all our communities.”

 

Hospital’s excellent care and support recognised by UNICEF

Extraordinary standards of care and support to new parents, particularly with breastfeeding, were recognised at Broomfield Hospital by UNICEF.

The Maternity unit at the hospital, part of Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust, has been given stage two accreditation from UNICEF’s Baby Friendly Initiative, meaning that patients can be more confident about receiving exceptional care from staff who are well-trained and knowledgeable about breastfeeding.

Charlotte Lowden, Specialist Midwife for Infant Feeding at Broomfield, said: “This is a testament to the hard work of our team who are passionate about providing the best possible care for parents and their babies. We are committed to continuing our journey towards stage three Baby Friendly Initiative accreditation and believe this will help us to further improve breastfeeding rates and support families in making informed decisions about feeding.”

 

Nurse training programme recognised with national award

A programme that prepares new and internationally educated nurses to work in hospital won national recognition.

The Professional and Commissioned Education team at Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust were awarded the national Interim Quality Mark by NHS England for their Preceptorship Programme.

The 15-month programme is for newly registered nurses and nursing associates, helping them at the beginning of their career to develop as an accountable professional.

Gill Perry, Associate Director of Nursing for Professional and Commissioned Education said: “Achieving the quality mark gives me confidence that we successfully support our nurses to deal with the demands of being newly registered professionals. The programme helps staff fully understand the impact their roles have on patients and helps them to understand the career opportunities and progression routes available to them. The programme focuses on emotional intelligence, delegation and leadership which all make a difference to patient care.”

 

Hospital staff won four national awards

The paediatrics departments at Basildon and Southend hospitals, part of Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust, each won two awards at the Paediatric Awards for Training Achievements.

The Best Paediatric Training Hospital award was given to the Basildon team for providing excellent training for staff, meaning they are committed to providing exceptional patient care and the best development opportunities for colleagues.

In individual categories, Dr Mokhlesur Rahman from Southend Hospital received the Best Educational Supervisor award, Dr Agnieszka Nowacka, also from Southend Hospital, was given the Best Senior Trainee award, and Dr Vanessa Naguleswaran from Basildon Hospital earned the Best Trainee award in the Registrar category.

Dr Maimuna Mushabe, Clinical Director for Paediatrics at the Trust, said: “This is a remarkable achievement. As a service, we are dedicated to offering the finest training environment, and we know it is crucial that we attract and retain staff by supporting their development.”

 

Transformational cancer team won national award

The team from Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust won the HSJ Patient Safety Pilot Project of the Year award for carrying out enhanced medical assessments with elderly patients who need surgery for colorectal cancer.

The project involves thorough checking of patients’ physical functions, nutrition, mental health, memory tests, and doing a range of screening and IV therapies for medical issues before and after surgery.

Dr James Jegard, a Consultant Geriatrician at the Trust, said: “We were absolutely delighted to win the HSJ award for developing this clinic, which is providing better access and better outcomes for curative cancer surgery for our population. We are really proud of this recognition and hope that we can use this as a platform to expand the service to help more elderly patients to access safe surgery.”

 

Radiographer won top regional award for outstanding patient care

A Basildon Hospital radiographer won a regional award from the Society of Radiographers for her excellent work in making sure patients get the best possible care.

Florence Hammond, who has over 25 years’ experience, is a Gastrointestinal (GI) Advanced Practitioner, and has been named the Radiography Professional of the Year for the Eastern region at the Radiography Awards on World Radiography Day. Florence was nominated by her team because of her outstanding work leading the GI Fluoroscopy service, which includes taking real-time X-rays, investigating causes of swallowing difficulties in patients needing an endoscopy and doing CT colonography as part of the bowel cancer screening process.

Receiving the award, Florence said: “I am thrilled to have been nominated by my peers. I am fortunate to work within such a dedicated team of radiographers. I hope that by winning this award it raises the profile of radiographers and radiography advanced practice across our hospitals and the valuable role we contribute to patient care.”