Staff success celebrated at Living Our Values Awards 2023

The 2023 Living Our Values Awards celebrated health board staff who have gone above and beyond in delivering excellent care and services over the past year.

The event at Swansea Arena was the perfect opportunity to thank those who have excelled at demonstrating the health board’s values, while using their drive and determination to inspire others.

In total, 44 entries were shortlisted by an expert panel following 126 nominations before the winners were decided by staff, which attracted 8,550 votes.

Attendees were treated to music from Choirs for Good and harpist Marged Hall from Music in Hospitals, while Mal Pope compered the awards for the second consecutive year.

PICTURED: The event took place at Swansea Arena for the second consecutive year.

New Interim Chief Executive, Dr Richard Evans, said: “Recognising and celebrating the achievements of our staff is a fundamental part of our health board’s values and how we do things here at Swansea Bay.

“Events such as these are an opportunity for us to say a sincere thank you for their sterling work throughout what has continued to be a significantly challenging year.

“In reflecting back over the past 12 months it is important to acknowledge the sacrifices and efforts made by everyone whether they’re staff, student or volunteer and no matter what part of the organisation they work in.

“After all, we’re all one team and we all contribute to providing the best possible healthcare for our Swansea Bay population as well as many other people further afield.

“Over the last year our staff have participated in significant service change and transformation. That can be unsettling, but they’ve got on with it and have helped us deliver big and meaningful changes, including separating planned and emergency care.

“I am extremely proud of what they have achieved over the last year."

Chair, Emma Woollett, said: “It has been truly magnificent celebrating our wonderful staff and seeing so many recognised for their exceptional work over the last 12 months as we’ve worked hard towards recovery in a post-pandemic world and, at the same time, taking forward large-scale service change and transformation.

“The aim of these awards goes beyond recognising and thanking our finalists, we also aim to inspire future developments and learning for the benefit of our patients and wider communities.

PICTURED: Staff pose for a photograph in the pre-awards reception.

“In our friendly and close-knit communities across the Swansea Bay and Neath Port Talbot region, these are often our families, friends, neighbours and colleagues, as well as visitors. Whoever you are, our values-led approach means that we all provide the best we can for one another, always striving to offer what we would all wish for our most loved ones.

“I must also say a big thank you to all the sponsors of our awards. They include RCN Wales; Swansea University’s Faculty of Medicine, Health & Life Science; Gower College Swansea; Music in Hospitals and our main sponsors Principality Building Society. Without their support, this event would not be possible.”

LIST OF AWARDS AND WINNERS

Always Improving Award

A team or individual who has made improvements to the quality of the care or service they provide, which has had a demonstrable positive effect on the patient, client or colleague’s experience.

NOMINEES: Improving the access to persistent pain services within Swansea Bay University Health Board by reducing DNAs; Establishing a Maternity Voice Partnership; Fracture Discharge Service

WINNER: Fracture Discharge Service

INFO: The creation of the Fracture Discharge Service in late 2022 has played a pivotal role in improving patient flow and their recovery.

Multidisciplinary teams from the Virtual Wards, Older Persons Assessment Service, Trauma and Orthopaedics and the Early Discharge Service team have worked together to help older patients return home from hospital earlier.

The collaboration also set up targeted support, including the Virtual Wards model, which is increasingly successful at caring for people in their homes rather than hospital. That allows the patient to recover faster as being at home reduces their risk of catching infections and deconditioning.

By incorporating the Fracture Discharge Service into the daily running of the established Virtual Wards, it has ensured wrap-around care to cater for all health and social care needs of the individuals.

Patient and family feedback has also highlighted improved mobility and wellbeing along with better outcomes for loved ones.

Caring for Each Other Award

An award for staff, volunteers or teams who strive for things they can do, however small, to care for others in every human contact in their day-to-day roles both in a hospital and community setting. Their behaviours and actions help improve the health and well-being of patients, carers, families and/or colleagues.

NOMINEES: Rebecca Petchey; The Nutrition and Dietetic Service Wellbeing Team; SPICE service coordinator

WINNER: SPICE service coordinator Pat Barker

INFO: For two decades, Pat Barker has led a team that helps end-of-life patients who want to die at home have their wishes respected.

Pat is an integral part of the Swansea Palliative Intermediate Care (SPICE) team, which was set up in 2003 to facilitate the swift discharge home from hospital for end-of-life patients. The service also provides direct care and support to patients in the last 12 weeks of life to prevent unnecessary hospital admissions and enable them to live at home and die in the place of their choice.

As part of her role, Pat also identifies and responds to the spiritual and cultural needs of the patient and their carers, along with ensuring staff received adequate training.

Her compassion is central to the care that she provides, and responds with humanity and kindness to each person’s pain, distress, anxiety or need.

Working Together Award

This category is a partnership or team award where a group consistently supports one another to achieve great things, in line with the health board’s value of working together. They continuously seek to improve their service and work together as patients, families, carers, staff and or communities to always put patients first. Teams may be from clinical or non-clinical backgrounds and consist of health, social care and staff from other partner organisations.

NOMINEES: Gavin Price and Huw Davies; Working together to improve the health and wellbeing of people experiencing persistent pain; Increasing the voice of service users in our services

WINNER: Increasing the voice of service users in our services

INFO: The health board’s Learning Disability Division employed two individuals with learning disabilities to work within their teams.

Joanna Jones and Stacey Traylor have been key members of the division and have helped reshape the service provided through their own experience and knowledge.

On top of educating colleagues and other services, they have empowered others, increased the skills and knowledge of generic services and understood the needs of young people in transition.

They have been valuable contributors to a number of work streams including training, recruitment and a national programme to reduce health inequalities.

Commitment to Research and Development Award

Recognising a contribution to the promotion and engagement in research and development excellence. The winner was required to provide a significant piece of research or developed an idea, device or process which has impacted on a service improvement or patient care both directly and indirectly. 

NOMINEES: Family Psychoeducation Programme for Low Secure Services (F-PEPSS); Developing and evaluating a Positive Psychology group for people living with Acquired Brain Injury; Rehabilitation Engineering Workshop Team

WINNER: Developing and evaluating a Positive Psychology group for people living with Acquired Brain Injury

INFO: A wellbeing intervention developed by staff from the Neuropsychology and Community Brain Injury Service in Morriston Hospital has helped patients with a brain injury to live their lives as fully as possible following a significantly traumatising event that has left them with lifelong changes.

The intervention, which is being trialled across three health boards in Wales, is based upon building wellbeing and founded on the principles of Positive Psychology.

The approach has been found to help build character strengths and values, cultivate positive emotions improves positive behaviours, manage challenging emotions, understand the connection between mind and body and harnesses the Vagus nerve, enhance relationships, connect with the natural environment and enhance meaning and purpose in life.

Excellence in Equality and Inclusion Award

This award celebrates an individual or team whose work has excelled in promoting equality and diversity and contributed to creating a more inclusive environment for our people.

NOMINEES: Swansea Bay Health Board Welcome Response to Ukrainian Refugees; Omobola Akinade; Calon LGBT+ & Allies network

WINNER: Swansea Bay Health Board Welcome Response to Ukrainian Refugees

INFO: A team of Swansea Bay health professionals collaborated with local authorities and partner agencies to provide access to primary and mental health care screening and support for Ukrainian refugees.

A Primary Care and Mental Health and Learning Disability project team worked with the local authority to give refugees access to early health and mental health screening, support and intervention.

Dr Nistor Becia, Senior Psychologist, created a community psychology model in order to ensure that their psychological needs were best met, assessing, liaising, intervening with schools, third sector partners and authorities to support their resettlement. He also travelled to the border of Romania and Ukraine during his annual leave to support displaced people and train health professionals in psychological first aid.

Excellence in Leadership and Management Award

This award recognises individuals who demonstrate the organisation’s values in leading or managing their team or service. This is for individuals who are an inspiration and role model to others. They are outstanding in their role, lead by example and act with professionalism and integrity at all times. They are also approachable and supportive to colleagues and inspire them to develop and improve the services we provide.

NOMINEES: Julie Lloyd; Sarah Lewis-Simms; Alex Gigg

WINNERS: Sarah Lewis-Simms and Alex Gigg

INFO: The development of staff and services has been top of Sarah Lewis-Simms’ list since she was appointed head of services for Occupational Therapy.

A motivated leader, Sarah has also shown a willingness to understand the responsibilities of staff by donning her clinical uniform.

She helped staff through a significant service change in the health board just a few months into her post. Sarah handled this situation with sensitivity, professionalism and compassion, while she held a series of engagement events for staff which she attended in person, led discussions and worked with colleagues to gain a better understanding of their concerns and formulate solutions. 

INFO: Alex Gigg is the Clinical Lead for the Virtual Ward Occupational Therapy team.

Alex has recently taken the lead role in developing more efficient, safer patient pathways to ensure seamless transition between secondary care and primary care therapy teams. This multi professional, cross service interaction was to ensure better quality care for patients through strong collaborative professional working.

In addition to leading eight occupational therapy colleagues, Alex offers guidance, advice and support to the wider nursing and therapy teams associated with the Virtual Ward service, Swansea Bay UHB Clusters and Early Discharge Teams.

Improving Lives through Creativity Award

This award highlights individuals or teams who strive to improve health and wellbeing and people’s experiences of the NHS through the use of creativity in health care settings. Music, photography, poetry, virtual arts and storytelling and other mediums are used to prevent ill health or improve a patient’s experience during their health journey and help them recover quicker.

NOMINEES: Patient Facing Multi-Media Campaign; Sharing HOPE – the art of healing together; CAMHS Courses – To develop a course-based program for children and young people.

WINNER: Sharing HOPE – the art of healing together

INFO: Sharing HOPE is a therapeutic arts project available to all staff and highlights the power of sharing stories, capturing Covid recovery, processing morale trauma and the de-stigmatisation of mental health.

The arts create an arena for healing from the impact of the pandemic and is essential in staff recovery.  

Sharing HOPE complements current systems to help health board staff who have concerns or are struggling with particular issues. It delivers a wide range of arts-based events to staff in work and community settings, including textile groups and beach sculpture days.

Learner of the Year Award

Awarded to a learner who clearly demonstrates outstanding commitment, enthusiasm and determination to personal development and progression through their learning, resulting in a considerable contribution within the department/service area in which they work.

NOMINEES: Cassie-Jo Layzell; A Lifelong Learner, Rebecca Shaw; Nicola Jenkins

WINNER: Cassie-Jo Layzell

INFO: Senior Vascular Access Nurse Cassie-Jo Layzell underwent a Non-Medical Prescribing course to improve patient experience and expedite patient discharges more quickly, allowing for better patient flow through the hospital.

By prescribing for patients being discharged from outpatients parenteral antimicrobial therapy, she is playing her part in helping to facilitate faster discharges for patients within an acute hospital setting. This will help to reduce A&E waiting times and pressures for hospital beds.

By furthering her knowledge surrounding the use of antimicrobials and commonly used drugs within her role, Cassie-Jo has also been able to act more effectively as an antibiotic guardian, ensuring that patients are discharged with the most appropriate treatment for their diagnosis.

Partnership Working Award

Awarded to a staff/trade union and management representative who by working together in true collaboration, in spite of opposing views, have achieved the best possible outcomes for individuals, teams, services and ultimately patients.

NOMINEES: Covid vaccination response; Specialist Palliative Care Paramedic team; Home First Integrated Team

WINNER: Home First Integrated Team

INFO: Initially set up to support the rapid hospital discharge policy initiated during the pandemic, the Home First Integrated Team has since developed into a recovery and sustainability programme - part of which was implementation of the National Discharge to Recover Then Assess (D2RA) pathways.

West Glamorgan Regional Partnership manage the transformational work of the Home First programme, which has been a leader in implementation of Discharge to Recover then Assess nationally.

There are multiple teams aligned to Home First, with the health board, local authority and third sector staff working together to support timely flow and outcomes for patients admitted to the pathways. The health board team consist of Therapy Discharge Liaison Team medication management and team leads.

Partnerships are an integral part of the culture and have led to hundreds of patients either leaving hospital and returning home or recovering in a more appropriate area outside of an acute hospital bedded facility. 

Speaking Up with Compassion Award

Awarded to an individual or team that has spoken up or raised a concern where there has been risk or improvements needed for the benefit of patient care, staff experience, services, systems, processes or relationships. Whilst speaking up or raising the concern, the individual/team has remained compassionate, respectful and professional in line with the Swansea Bay values and behaviours framework.

NOMINEES: Dr May Li; Optimising Birth - A Health Board’s Commitment to Maintaining and Promoting the Role of the Midwife

WINNER: Dr May Li

INFO: Dr May Li’s proactive ‘can-do’ attitude ultimately paved the way for greater collaboration, trust and improved pathways between secondary and primary care services.

An experienced GP who has a strong history of service improvement and innovation to benefit the needs of our most vulnerable patient populations, Dr Li highlighted the power of standing side by side with colleagues to agree the best pathway of care for our most vulnerable patients, ensuring admission avoidance and reduction of length of stay was achieved wherever possible.

The importance of trust in professional relationships was evident and Dr Li has emphasised the need to demonstrate the capability of community-led services through real-time discussion in order to instil confidence in referring clinicians. This ensures the patient receives the right intervention, at the right time, by the most appropriate professional, within their own home.

Sustainability in Healthcare Award

A new award for this year, it recognises those striving to implement sustainable change within the healthcare sector for a greener future for the NHS. It benchmarks the amazing achievements being made and highlights some of the journeys made by our teams.

NOMINEES: Lockable bike shelters; Green Theatres Group; Decarbonising Pharmacy

WINNER: Decarbonising Pharmacy

INFO: Our pharmacy team has been working on reducing its carbon emissions, particularly through inhaler use.

They have developed a number of projects, which included developing prompts for GPs to encourage prescribing of inhalers that are less harmful to the environment.

They also created a successful inhaler return and recycling campaign. This reduced the harmful emissions from the disposal process while specific inhalers were collected and the propellant reused for cooling, while plastic and aluminium were recycled. 

A further project, which won the health board’s Green Team Competition, forecasted a significant reduction in our carbon footprint – the equivalent of 552 round-the-world car trips – if suitable asthma patients switched their inhaler. It also incorporated pharmacist-led clinics, which were set up to help improve asthma care, disease control and educate patients on inhaler technique as well as the impact that inhalers have on the environment.

The Essential People Award

This award recognises the key individuals and essential services working hard behind the scenes to provide support to those on the front-line and directly/indirectly supporting patient care and a positive patient experience (for example, porters, estates, domestics, catering, administrators and workforce).

NOMINEES: Ceri Jenkins; Christine May; Essentially more than PAs

WINNER: Ceri Jenkins

INFO: Ceri Jenkins has provided essential administrative support to the Speech And Language Therapy (SLT) department, ensuring a smooth implementation of the Additional Learning Needs (ALN) Reform.

She has demonstrated significant innovation, intuition, resilience and compassion; developing robust and sustainable admin processes, ensuring individuals with ALN receive the best care from our department.

Since the launch of the ALN Reform in 2018, Ceri has demonstrated enthusiasm and developed knowledge in understanding the importance of this legislation, not only to the children and young people impacted, but also to the SLT department.

She continues to maintain her regular admin duties whilst delivering excellent outcomes on the ALN project. The role she plays in supporting ALN is fundamental to the children and young people most impacted, and they receive the right support, at the right time, from the right person due to her collaborative work.

Trainee Doctor of the Year Award

Awarded to a trainee doctor in acknowledgement of the high regard that the trainee’s supervisors and colleagues have of their work and contribution to the workplace.

NOMINEES: Dr Seungyoun Moon; Hannah Saitch; Dr Diluka Premawardhana

WINNER: Dr Seungyoun Moon

INFO: Dr Seungyoun Moon has contributed to the psychiatry service with leadership, passion and training others while developing herself to the international level of recognition.

Dr Moon has embraced developing herself to take on clinical duties above her role as a doctor in a core trainee rotation. She has taken on a leadership role in leading inpatient ward rounds and community multi-disciplinary team meetings.

Dr Moon has been actively participating in Audit and Quality Improvement, and is currently working on three different projects in various different specialties - Elderly Care Ward in Old Age Psychiatry, Improving Quality of Documentation in Learning Disabilities Inpatient Units and Epilepsy Medication Monitoring in Learning Disability Psychiatry. 

She has also been selected as a speaker for the World Congress of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy - a global multidisciplinary organisation dedicated to the promotion of health and well-being through the scientific development and implementation of evidence-based cognitive behavioural strategies designed to evaluate, prevent, and treat mental conditions and illness.

Volunteer of the Year Award

This award provides an opportunity to celebrate and recognise the added value of health board volunteers/unpaid staff, who complement the work of our employed workforce by making a positive impact on the experience of our patients, families, visitors, the wider NHS and our local communities.

NOMINEES: Mentor’s Group; Person i Mi – Person For Me Volunteers; Emergency Department Volunteer Team

WINNER: Person i Mi – Person For Me Volunteers

INFO: The Person i Mi – Person for Me service uses specially-trained volunteers to provide extra support and companionship to patients who are receiving end-of-life care in Ty Olwen.

The volunteers offer their time and a listening ear to patients who have life-limiting illnesses, are in the last months of life or may have no or few visitors. They also give family and friends a chance to take a break during visiting, knowing one of the volunteers can keep their loved one company.

The volunteers work alongside staff to deliver one-to-one support to patients who may wish to share their stories, worries and concerns.

Available eight hours each day, they can assist with more practical tasks such as ensuring patients stay connected with friends and family by helping them make phone and video calls.

On average, the team give up 100 hours of their time each month.

Welsh Language Award

This award is for staff who have helped to facilitate, increase and promote the use of the Welsh language in the health board and give service users the opportunity to receive their care through the medium of Welsh, if they so wish. It is also for those who have created an increased understanding of the Welsh language and Welsh culture amongst our non-Welsh speaking workforce and the public.

NOMINEES: Eleri Ash; Haf Rees; Hannah Bendoni

WINNER: Hannah Bendoni

INFO: Hannah Bendoni is a therapy assistant practitioner within Lighthouse - a new multidisciplinary service supporting children, young people and their families with their weight management.

Hannah has been instrumental in ensuring Welsh is embedded within the service from the outset so families receive care at all steps of their journey that meets their language needs.

She has taken the lead within the team to ensure that all documentation produced by the team has been available in Welsh as standard from the outset.

She has been instrumental in liaising with the publishers of external companies to ensure that the specific structured education programmes that the team uses with young people and families are translated and published in Welsh providing health care that meets their language needs.

This is some achievement given that she’s not a Welsh speaker herself, and doesn’t have direct access to a Welsh speaker within her team.

Ultimate LOV award

Selected by the health board’s chair, Emma Woollett, this award goes to the team or individual that she feels is the embodiment of our values and behaviours and has been selected from all of those nominations shortlisted against our values categories of Caring for Each Other, Working Together and Always Improving.

WINNER: SPICE service coordinator Pat Barker

Emma Woollett, said: “My choice for the Ultimate Living Our Values Award blew me away! She has spent 20 years dedicated to helping people return home to die in a dignified way, putting in way more than contracted hours and totally committed to the provision of high-quality care. The phrase ‘she puts the needs of patients before organisational boundaries’ summed it up for me, and that’s why I chose her as the winner.