Congratulations to all our winners at this year’s Star Awards!
October 17, 2023
Last Friday we held our 2023 Star Awards where a total of 13 awards were handed out to both clinical and non-clinical colleagues across SWB.
Our awards ceremony, which was held at Aston Villa Football Club, aims to recognise the hard work and dedication of our colleagues and volunteers, both on the frontlines and our supporting services.
Throughout this week, we will be celebrating all our award winners from the annual awards.
Today we feature:
Award for Equality, Diversity and Inclusion – Janice Nelson: Janice took on the role of procurement equality, diversity and inclusion lead in 2021. To the best of our knowledge, the role is the first of its kind nationally, and therefore Janice had to set the ambition for our service with a blank sheet of paper. She has implemented an EDI procurement strategy which set the aims, outcomes and key metrics for the next three years. As a result, our team are delivering improved EDI and social value outcomes, increasing BAME opportunity to access NHS spend. She has showcased her approach at an “ICS meet the buyer” event, engaging with small and medium enterprise businesses, supporting them to access contracts within the NHS. Janice captures supplier diversity information, and EDI questions are now issued with all tenders. Results form part of the scoring process to ensure we place added value on SMEs that reflect our EDI principles. Janice also works alongside Black Country Chamber of Commerce, understanding the barriers SMEs and BAME may have in accessing NHS contracts. Through her EDI work, Janice has significantly improved our score in the Talent Inclusion and Diversity Evaluation assessment giving fair and equal opportunity to all.
Distinguished Service Award – Verna White: Verna has worked within the NHS for almost 30 years, starting as an auxiliary, progressing to a nurse and then later training as a midwife at SWB. Verna has undertaken many roles, her most recent being a delivery suite coordinator. During her years in midwifery at SWB, Verna was the ward manager of M2 at Sandwell, and antenatal clinic manager at City. Despite suffering her own tragedies and heartache, she is always positive and has the biggest smile and infectious laugh. It is always noticeable that Verna’s positive work ethic influences others around her, generally making the workplace and clinical environment a really kind and pleasant place to be. She is the ultimate ARC role model, with an added sparkling smile and infectious laugh that centres positivity and kindness as core components in how she coordinates and runs her shifts.
Sustainability Award – Cardiac Cath Lab: The Cardiac Cath Lab team have made several active changes this year to improve their approach to sustainability and are consistently at the top of the green impact points table. They have now gotten rid of plastic cups, with all colleagues bringing their own ceramic mugs. They have also done away with plastic bed covers and the use of inko pads, began using plastic trays instead of cardboard dishes and focused on waste by using yellow bin bags instead of orange ones. They are also looking into how to recycle old or out of date equipment such as catheters, as well as reducing their use of single-use items. The team have made big changes in a short amount of time, reducing the Trust’s environmental impact overall and acting as a shining example of what we can achieve.
Prize for Transformation and Research – Training and Development Team, Breast Imaging: There is a national shortage of mammographers and limited training places at university. Last year the service had a 47 per cent vacancy factor, so the programme manager designed a concentrated immersive training programme which resulted in trainees gaining clinical competency at a greater pace (within 30 days) allowing them to work autonomously within six months instead of 12 months. The service is now fully established and could potentially be in a position to train mammographers for the Black Country Provider Collaborative moving forwards, to support their vacancy factors and generate income. Through zero vacancy factor the service has reduced the risk of missed round length KPI, as well as early detection and treatment of small cancers. The risk of staff burn out has also been reduced. The service has utilised this opportunity to research different methodologies to enhancing training practices and the student journey, collecting data with a view to publish in a peer journal and work towards academy status.