A determined and tenacious senior project manager who has great attention to detail and a real drive for improvement, and a compassionate and empathetic cook who goes the extra mile, are the winners of September’s You Made a Difference awards.
Danuta has been working with Medirest since February 2010. She started as a housekeeper on Ward D10 and moved to C2 in October 2021. She is a friendly member of the team and works well with CUH colleagues.
Danuta is super-efficient and she loves working on C2 with the children, as she feels she is giving something back by helping them in some way with their recovery. She is a valued member of both the Medirest and C2 teams.
We are very lucky to have Danuta here in the hospital. The patients and anyone she comes into contact with agree she is positive and helpful person.
Extracts from Danuta’s nomination said:
“Danuta (Danka) is a great role model for the housekeepers she takes under her wing and trains up in the procedures of ‘going the extra mile’ to ensure patients receive the right nutrition for their needs. She shows compassion and empathy to all she comes into contact with.
“When Danuta became hostess on C2 I knew she would give us exactly what the ward required for their specialist needs.”
Danuta goes over and above to ensure the children get what they want, and how they want it, within the confines of our service availability.
“She encourages the children to make choices and cooks accordingly. She shows compassion to the parents at a very stressful time and ensures that staff are well informed on the dietary needs of the children. All round a great credit to Medirest working alongside the team on the ward.”
The relatives of a patient commented:
After a doctor's appointment and a visit to our local hospital, our daughter arrived at Ward C2. She did not want to speak to any doctors or nurses as she was scared and unsure. Danuta cheered her up every day and made the foods she was craving.
Danuta checked that me and my partner were getting enough to eat and drink and looking after ourselves as well.
“We saw her, on numerous occasions, doing this for other families. She really goes above and beyond on a difficult ward.”
Kate worked in Division A for a year to project manage the implementation of the Intestinal Rehabilitation Network. Kate has successfully brought all the components of the service together and improved the pathway.
Kate’s manager during the secondment said: “I think it is fair to say that when you give Kate a piece of work like this, no stone is left unturned. She is so well organised and focussed. Kate is also a really supportive colleague and brought a wealth of experience to the team.”
I have rarely worked with someone as determined and tenacious as Kate.
Kate has now resumed her role as deputy operations manager. Her current manager commented: “Kate is very supportive and organised, really hard working and is a huge asset to the divisional and imaging team.”
Kate is a pleasure to work with. She is passionate about quality and has great attention to detail and a real drive to make things the best they can be for patients and her team.
Extracts from Kate’s nomination from a colleague said:
“Kate joined the team with little knowledge about intestinal failure/rehabilitation. She quickly understood the patient group and the aims of the service in this highly specialist area.”
With great enthusiasm Kate has mapped out the patient pathway from referral to discharge, highlighting areas of good practice and making suggestions for improvements.
“Kate has provided support and pushed through a workforce review which has resulted in an expansion in dietitians, nutrition nurses and specialist pharmacists, as well as supporting funding for a dietitian to undertake development training to become a supplementary prescriber for home parenteral nutrition (HPN). She has led on the development and full integration of the surgical aspect of this service, which will enable closer working and improve outcomes for patients requiring surgical input.
“Kate has started the process of exploring funding of automation machines within Pharmacy which will increase capacity and efficiency, enabling more patients at CUH to be prescribed bespoke parenteral nutrition. This will provide more tailored prescriptions to patients who are often metabolically unstable.
“Kate organised and helped to deliver our inaugural network meeting with referring centres in March 2022 where we presented our new patient pathways. Kate has been fundamental in moving the service forwards.”
Kate has been a joy to work with and always has a smile on her face. She has truly made a difference to the Intestinal Rehabilitation team and patients alike.
Find out more about intestinal rehabilitation here.