A senior sister whose ward is flourishing under her leadership and a caring and dignified porter who has worked for the Trust for 26 years are the winners of December’s You Made a Difference awards.
Julie Johnston began her career at CUH at the age of 17, as a healthcare assistant. She went on to train as a registered nurse and over the years has worked in the department of medicine for the elderly, hepatology, the planned short stay unit and the medical decisions unit.
Julie started on the infectious diseases ward, D10, in 2016. During her time on the ward she has been promoted to a senior sister and the ward is flourishing under her leadership
A kind, considerate and conscientious person, Julie always goes the extra mile for her staff and patients to ensure their wellbeing and happiness on the ward.
This is reflected in the winning nomination, extracts of which told us:
“Julie went above and beyond managing a complicated and difficult situation which arose on the ward.”
“She was amazingly supportive of all of her junior nurses that were struggling and it was a real testament to how caring and good she is as a nurse as even on her days off she would telephone in to check how her staff were getting on.”
She is a true team leader and a credit to her profession.
Ray Jerome joined CUH as a porter in October 1994. His role involves tasks such as transferring patients from wards to clinics, x-rays, scans and moving equipment like pumps, beds and medical gases.
Ray also assists in cardiac arrest calls by delivering the crash trolley; with many of his shifts supporting the teams in the emergency department. Ray lives the CUH values of Safe, Kind and Excellent every day.
This is reflected in the winning nomination, extracts of which told us:
“Ray was professional from the beginning to the end of the admission of an elderly patient who had experienced a fall at home and was transferred by ambulance to the emergency department.”
“There was nothing that was too much trouble for Ray. In-between patient contact Ray was alert to other tasks that he could assist colleagues and patients with; this was done with obvious willingness and always a smile.”
“The caring and dignified approach to his work was a reassuring observation by the family of the patient.”
When the patient was transferred to scanning Ray ensured the patient was safe, warm and cared for by talking to the patient during the transfer and gauging the emotions of the family.
“We could not help but be impressed by Ray's natural approach to his work.”
“Ray demonstrated everything and more you would like to see from a professional in a health care setting. Safe, kind and excellent are innate in Ray.”
