West Herts nurses nominated for national awards
Chief Nurse Kelly McGovern of West Herts Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust discussed the nominations with Greatest Hits Radio
West Herts Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust has received six nominations in the prestigious 2024 Nursing Times Awards, recognizing the compassion and innovation of its nursing teams.
The nominations include:
Sam Behagg, bereavement midwife, for Midwife of the Year.
Suraj Kumar, respiratory nurse, for Rising Star.
The Trust's surgical virtual hospital team in three categories: Theatre and Surgical Nursing, Patient Safety Improvement, and Technology and Data in Nursing.
The Trust's self-rostering system in the Technology and Data category.
Chief Nurse Kelly McGovern of West Herts Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust discussed the nominations with Greatest Hits Radio...
“It's a big rigorous nomination process. And obviously, we've had six amazing nominations accepted"
The surgical virtual hospital team received multiple nominations for their role in patient recovery. “They basically have managed to do surgery on patients, but look after them in a virtual hospital setting. So at home quicker recovery,” Kelly said.
Bereavement midwife Sam Behagg was nominated for Midwife of the Year due to her work with families experiencing loss. Kelly highlighted, “She’s been nominated for all the work she's done with bereaved families, it's really difficult. But showing her compassion and her leadership and her support to teams.”
Respiratory nurse Suraj Kumar earned a spot in the Rising Star category. Kelly noted, “He's been instrumental in the respiratory world and all the work that we're doing with our more junior nurses and our pathways for our patients.”
The Trust's self-rostering system, designed to improve work-life balance for nursing staff, was also recognized. Kelly explained, “That is our workforce team, and they've been doing lots of self-rostering, which is around flexible working for nursing staff and we're just about to roll it out for more disciplines in our hospitals.”
Reflecting on the Trust's values, Kelly stated, “We truly believe in, in compassion for everyone, including our staff to each other, but also to our patients.”
Kelly expressed hope that these nominations would encourage other staff members and showcase the positive work within the Trust. “I think this is going to spur other people on because there's so many that have been recognized this year that actually let's stop showcasing the work we do.”
Addressing staff well-being, Kelly emphasized its importance, especially after the challenges of recent years. “Health and well-being and supporting our staff is one of the most important things that we as leaders, as a hospital, and generally in the NHS need to make sure we do because it's been a tough couple of years for everyone,” she said.
Kelly highlighted the need for public recognition of the Trust’s achievements: “I think that the public now we're working hard… we are compassionate, we are caring, we are kind, we are empowered, and this is the way forward.”
The winners of the Nursing Times Awards will be announced in October.