In May 2021 we were once again able to extend our You Made a Difference scheme, thanks to a generous donation from the Alborada Trust to Addenbrooke’s Charitable Trust (ACT), to recognise the commitment and amazing work of our staff during the first waves of the Covid pandemic.
We are proud to run the You Made a Difference scheme, which recognises individuals and teams who have made a difference to those around them; either to patients and visitors or to fellow staff members.
The nominations were truly touching – changes to working practice with little notice, personal sacrifice, going above and beyond to help each other and our patients.
Thanks to the sponsorship from the Alborada Trust, via ACT, we were able to select 64 individual and 49 team winners of You Made a Difference awards in May 2021, whose nominations really encapsulated the Trust values of Together – Safe, Kind and Excellent.
The full list of winners, both individual and team, are available below, but here are a few excerpts from the nominations:
James has worked throughout all Covid waves, always with a smile on his face and always greets you with a ‘hello’. James deserves recognition for doing such an amazing job keeping us clean and tidy, and for always smiling even when we are sure it was probably the last thing he wanted to do. He deserves something good to come his way. Thank you James.
Whitney is brilliant, beaming with enthusiasm and always smiling as bright as the sun. She is always willing to help her patients on G3, support her colleagues, and no ask is too much. Her jovial disposition, sense of humour and willingness to learn new things make her the perfect colleague.
Over the last year Vaz has not only been one of the ED Bronze Consultants with his never ending energy and drive but he has also been the STP Urgent and Emergency Care Clinical Lead. Vaz has worked with others to introduce a number of new initiatives and pilots to support patients and the wider health system. The introduction of 111 video consultations for patients with minor injuries which during hours of operation has reduced the number of injuries referred to ED by 111 by 60%.
We set up a hotline which Fiona managed with warmth and empathy. We consistently got positive feedback from patients and their families; they told us Fiona was kind and caring and would move mountains to make sure they were looked after. This was not an easy task for Fiona – our patients were under enormous pressure and were often very distressed. She managed these calls with such sensitivity and without any clinical training.
The Covid response team was formed virtually overnight when occupational health saw a sharp rise in coronavirus enquiries, initially travel, quarantine and risk assessment advice. A group of redeployed nurses came from various locations across the hospital; these nurses had not met one another before, nor knew much about coronavirus and public health. With a little training and a lot of courage and hard work the Covid response team was formed. Based in occupational health and the Deakin Centre, this group of nurses worked tirelessly to inform, advise and reassure CUH staff members on all aspects related to Covid; this team was unbreakable. Despite their own anxieties and concerns they put the CUH staff first and maintained professionalism throughout.
We are incredibly proud of the CUH family – the care they have shown for our patients and for each other. You can watch a short video created by Cambridge Filmworks that thanks our staff for their work during the pandemic here (opens in a new tab).