A truly compassionate HR manager who has people’s wellbeing at the heart of everything she does, and a kind and helpful portering supervisor who goes above and beyond, are the winners of May’s You Made a Difference awards.
Emma joined CUH as an employee relations manager in October 2017 and in September 2019 she undertook an 18 month secondment as a divisional head of workforce.
Emma has now returned to her role as employee relations manager, where she works in partnership with managers to provide our staff with specialist, comprehensive and high quality support, advice and guidance on operational HR issues, in line with the latest employment law, Trust policy and good practice.
Previously Emma worked for Tesco for 21 years, working her way up to management and finally reaching the ultimate goal of being placed on the senior HR programme and signed off as a senior leader. She went back to college at the age of 34 and completed her CIPD qualification.
Emma knew her next role had to be somewhere special and there was no better place than CUH, due to the outstanding care that our staff gave to her son, Joshua. Emma knew she could provide support, advice and a friendly ear to our colleagues, so that they can continue with their truly life changing care for our patients.
Emma has people’s wellbeing at the heart of everything she does, and there are many examples where she has gone above and beyond to support those in times of need.
Emma demonstrates the true meaning of the Trust values – to be safe, kind and excellent.
This is reflected in the winning nomination which told us:
“When one of our international nurses was diagnosed with a terminal illness, Emma reached out to the family to provide support far beyond the mandates of the organisation, doing everything possible to relieve the family of some of the suffering and pain they were experiencing with the traumatic diagnosis.
Emma has demonstrated what true compassion looks like.
“Emma organised monthly meetings with the staff member's husband, supporting the patient and her husband through the difficult journey, clarifying and working through the process of taking sick leave and having difficult conversations. Emma ensured all the family needs were met and that the family had the monthly rent when they needed rehousing, she arranged for the husband to be able to spend time with his dying wife so they had special time together.
“Emma's support continued and she attended the funeral. The family expressed how much they appreciated Emma's support and the support of the Trust. What is so outstanding about Emma is that she continued to follow up with the husband after the death of his wife to offer support and guidance.
Emma's acts of kindness, her compassion, warmth, respect and sensitivity towards the family is priceless. Emma truly makes a difference by showing that her job is more than a job - it is a reflection of her character and lifestyle.
Charlie started with CUH in August 2014 as a day porter and progressed to become a team leader within the emergency department in August 2017.
Just under three years later, in June 2020, Charlie was successful in applying for a secondment role as a supervisor within portering, and just recently has been given the secondment role on a permanent basis following an interview process.
The supervisor role involves dealing with patients and visitors on a daily basis, as well as managing a team within portering.
Attributes needed to succeed as a supervisor are the ability to prioritise workloads, along with ensuring the availability of porter resources to deliver the required services, both of which Charlie regularly demonstrates.
This is reflected in the nomination from a colleague, extracts of which told us:
“Charlie went absolutely above and beyond today for us on the ward. He went out of his way to recover a phone that was accidentally placed in the linen chute.
By cooperating with the ward, with excellent communication with the patient, and teamwork, Charlie recovered priceless memories.
“We and the patients cannot thank him enough. This was surely a very Kind and Excellent behaviour that should be highlighted.”