It's Morriston Hospital's turn to be in the Patient Choice Awards spotlight

The latest in a series of awards events which recognise outstanding care and support from Swansea Bay staff and volunteers has taken place at Morriston Hospital.

Called the Patient Choice Awards, anyone wanting to say a big thank you to our staff and volunteers for providing brilliant care is invited to nominate individuals or teams from across the health board’s services and sites.

It can be anyone working for Swansea Bay who someone feels has really gone the extra mile, with nominators and nominees brought together at a series of presentation events this summer where patient’s stories are being shared and the awards handed out.

Staff have been nominated for anything from a relatively simple gesture that makes life more comfortable or convenient to being - quite literally - a life-saver.

Following awards events at Neath Port Talbot and Singleton hospitals, it was the turn of Morriston Hospital to be put in the Patient Choice spotlight, with numerous heartwarming stories shared.

Among them was a nomination for the staff of Cyril Evans and Dan Danino wards, with consultant cardiologist Dr Andrei Margulescu picked out for specific praise.

Nominator Stacey Scanlan wrote: “During quite a stressful year of ill health with my heart I have spent some time on Coronary Care Unit, Cyril Evans and the Dan Danino wards. I can’t praise the staff enough.

“In what seems to be a very busy and challenging cluster of wards the nurses and doctors are always in high spirits and give you the best care possible, making a stressful and difficult experience more bearable.

“Dr Margulescu and the cardiac team are truly an asset to Morriston Hospital and I am very grateful to the care they have and continue to give me.”

Pictured: Swansea Bay Vice Chair Steve Spill (second from left), pictured with Morriston staff  who have received a Patient Choice Awards nomination.

Meanwhile Coronary Care Unit healthcare support worker Emma Evans and Susan Godden were picked out for praise by Hywel Richards, who explained in his nomination: “They are lovely, positive and smiley. They go over and above to provide care. They took the time to ask how we were feeling and made us tea.”

Staff on Morriston’s Ward J non-invasive ventilation unit, including respiratory specialists Dr Tarek Dihan and Dr David Vardill, along with charge nurse John Williams, were nominated by patient Michelle Mason-Gawne.

“I was a patient on Bay D, Ward J for nine days recently,” wrote Michelle.

“I witnessed and received such wonderful, kind, exemplary care on this ward. “John’s leadership is very strong and effective, he runs a wonderful service and supports a great team of nurses. Patients are receiving exceptional care. Student nurses are receiving a great, knowledgeable, placement which they thoroughly enjoy.”

Since the nomination process for 2024 opened in February, 379 nominations have been made by patients and service users, families and carers.

Swansea Bay Vice Chair Steve Spill, who was among a number of speakers hosting the presentations, spelt out how much being nominated for an award means to staff.

He said: “These wonderful nominations allow us to celebrate either a member of our staff, volunteer or a team that, through the eyes and experience of our patients and service users, their relatives and our visitors feel they have made a real difference and have provided outstanding care. We’ve had a phenomenal response from our public and patients.”

Two more Patient Choice Awards events are scheduled to take place at Morriston Hospital on July 22nd and August 1st.
A complete list of awards recipients and nominators is listed below:

Event 1
Award 1: Cyril Evans- nominated by Paul Kenny.
Award 2: Cyril Evans, Dan Danino, Dr Andrei Margulescu (Consultant. Cardiology) & CCU Coronary Care Unit - nominated by Stacey Scanlan.
Award 3: CCU Coronary Care Unit - nominated by Gareth Davies, Lyn Rowlands, Gareth Morris and Katie Douglas.
Award 4: Emma Evans (HCSW. Coronary Care Unit) & Susan Godden (HCSW. Coronary Care Unit) - nominated by Hywel Richards.
Award 5: Emma Evans (HCSW. Coronary Care Unit) - nominated by Gurbaksh Bhullar, Rob Johns and Stevie Morris.
Award 6:  Emma Evans (HCSW. Coronary Care Unit), Nirmala Siriwardhana (HCSW. Surgical Float) & Sarah Abraham (Registered Nurse. CCU) - nominated by Keith Watkins.

Event 2
Award 1: Cardiac Health Team – nominated by Stephen Hope.
Award 2: Dr Tarek Dihan (Consultant Respiratory Physician), Dr David Vardill (Consultant Physician Respiratory Medicine), John Williams (Charge Nurse NIV Unit) & Ward J NIV Unit - nominated by Michelle Mason-Gawne.
Award 3: Sonia Flipping (HCSW, Ward G) – nominated by Alex Thomas, Tim and Ashley Adam Lyle.
Award 4:  Louise Norgrove (Specialist Nurse. ICC Team), Samantha Rumming (ICC Coordinator) & Suzanne Richards (Inherited Cardiac Conditions Nurse Specialist) – nominated by Janet Cross.
Award 5: Inherited Cardiac Conditions Team - nominated by Eugenia Jennifer Davies, June Phillips, Helen McConochie, Andrew McConochie & Sharon Obrien.

Event 3
Award 1: Asha Sajeesh (Staff Nurse Band 5. Operation Theatre), Christopher Williams (Assistant Scrub Practitioner. Theatres), Clydach Ward, Dr Saheer Pookayil (Speciality Doctor. Anaesthetics), Dr Shilpa Rawat (Consultant Anaesthetist), Emma Flaherty (Ward Administration. Clydach ward), Ffion Thomas (Ward Manager, Clydach Ward), Jan Lewis (Sister. Theatres), Karen Edwards (Anaesthetic Nurse), Lukasz Sejboth (Highly Specialised Physiotherapist Trauma & Orthopaedics), Mr Michael O’Malley (Spinal Consultant), Nerisa Fajardo (Theatre Nurse), Oludare Ashaolu (Senior Clinical Spinal Fellow), Rhiannon Hawes (Spinal Nurse practitioner), Samantha Thomas (Staff Nurse. Theatres) & Tatiana Garcia (Staff Nurse. Theatres) – nomination from Amanda Johnson.
Award 2: Alan Gibbon (Audiologist.), ENT Outpatients, ENT Surgical Team, Gemma Hebben (Paediatric ENT Specialist Nurse), Genna Mulligan (Medical Secretary. ENT), Laura Jones (HCSW. ENT), Mr Ameeth Sanu (Consultant ENT Surgeon), Mr Rhodri Costello (Consultant ENT Surgeon) & Spencer Gibbs (HCSW. Outpatients) – nominated by Rhiannon and Liv Walton.