Praise for County's Community Health Staff

Hard working healthcare staff down the east coast of Lincolnshire have been rewarded in an annual staff awards ceremony.

The staff, who work in Lincolnshire Community Health Services NHS Trust's (LCHS) hospital and community nursing services, were nominated by their colleagues and managers for their efforts over the last year.

Judges from the senior management team for the area selected both a clinical and support staff winner for each category, while the prizes were presented by Audrey Pestell, one of the trust's public members.

The winners were:

• Improving Patient Experience Award- Nicki Parker (Staff Nurse, Skegness Hospital) and Keith Rossington (Clinical Governance Manager).
• Innovation Award- Di Walker (Continence Nurse Specialist) and the Skegness Urgent Care Centre Reception Team.
• Patient Safety Award- Andrew Camm (Staff Nurse, Skegness Hospital) and Karen Cuthbert (Administrator, Horncastle Community Nursing Team).
• Team of the Year Award- Skegness Community Nursing Team and the Louth Administration Team.
• Unsung Hero- Fiona Fox (Physiotherapist, County Hospital, Louth) and Nick Adams (Pharmacist, County Hospital, Louth, for United Lincolnshire Hospitals NHS Trust).
• Exemplary Attitude- Vicki Wilson (Sister, Outpatients at Skegness Hospital) and David Newlove (Chaplain, County Hospital, Louth, for United Lincolnshire Hospitals NHS Trust).
• Progress Award- Jane Spence (Nurse Practitioner, Skegness Hospital Urgent Care Centre) and the Single Point of Access Team at County Hospital, Louth.

Catherine Wylie, Head of Clinical Services for LCHS in the north east of Lincolnshire, said: "This was an opportunity for us to celebrate the dedication and hard work of not only frontline clinical staff, but those working behind the scenes to ensure our services continue to run smoothly every day.

"It was a pleasure to see so many nominations for staff who had made an impact to both their patients and peers in different ways. Our team of the year, Skegness Community Nursing Team, see hundreds of extra patients every year as the town welcomes holidaymakers, while Fiona Fox, a physiotherapist based at County Hospital, Louth, was recognised for her persistence to find a way to help a patient increase their mobility to get out of bed and enjoy tasks such as eating dinner with family in the dining room.

"Support staff like Louth chaplain David Newlove and the administration teams provide an invaluable amount of support and knowledge to all of our teams. We would like to thank each and every one of our winners."