NHS staff from trusts in Birmingham and the Black Country had the honour of attending the first garden party of the year at Buckingham Palace.
Director of Commissioning Jayne Dunn from Sandwell and West Birmingham NHS Trust, and Yunzheng Jiao, Principal Pharmacist for Research and Clinical Trials at The Dudley Group NHS Foundation Trust, were invited to attend the annual garden party hosted by King Charles and Queen Camilla on May 6.
Group Chief Medical Officer at both Trusts, Jonathan Odum,also attended after being invited in recognition of his extensive commitments to the NHS and patient care across the Black Country.
The royal event recognises those who have made an outstanding contribution to public service or within their community.
Jayne was nominated by her organisation to attend the garden party for her work on bringing the Midland Metropolitan University Hospital in Smethwick to life.
With almost 40 years of service to the NHS, she has spent 12 years leading the successful planning, development and opening of the UK’s newest hospital.
Her work inspiring and bringing together clinical and non-clinical teams across the Trust has ensured the smooth and successful delivery of the major acute hospital that has benefitted patients, staff, and the wider local community.
Speaking after the event, she said: “It was a great privilege and pleasure to be nominated to attend the Royal Garden Party at Buckingham Palace.
“It was a lovely experience to see so many members of the Royal Family present to celebrate the achievements of those invited across many sectors including the NHS, charities, local government, military, police and religious organisations and to talk to other attendees from all walks of life about their stories.
“The gardens were magnificent, and the event was organised to perfection.”
Yunzheng Jiao was nominated for his impact to clinical research delivery and pharmacy research at the Dudley Group.
Since joining the Trust, he has led a project to relocate the pharmacy clinical trial team to the research department to make it easier for them to dispense clinical trials medication to patients, leading to a huge reduction in dispensing times.
He has also developed a pharmacist-led rheumatology clinical service and established a staff wellbeing group within the Research and Innovation Department, which has been highly praised by colleagues.
He said: “It was a huge honour and a very humbling experience to be invited to attend the Royal Garden Party at Buckingham Palace.
“I felt extremely proud to represent both the pharmacy profession and The Dudley Group NHS Foundation Trust, and it was particularly meaningful to have my work within clinical research, clinical practice, and pharmacy recognised.
“Meeting King Charles and having the opportunity to shake his hand was something I will remember for the rest of my life.”
The event was also attended by other members of the Royal Family, including Princess Anne, Prince Edward and Sophie, the Duchess of Edinburgh.
Each year, over 30,000 guests are invited to attend the events held in the gardens of Buckingham Palace or the Palace of Holyroodhouse, giving the Royal Family a chance to speak to individuals from various backgrounds and thank them for their dedication to making a positive difference through the work they do.