More than 100 healthcare workers were honoured at an NHS Trust’s staff awards held at a Birmingham football club.
The Star Awards took place at Villa Park boasting a colourful Bollywood theme and saw a host of staff from Sandwell and West Birmingham NHS Trust recognised for their dedication over the past year.
BBC Asian Network star Noreen Khan hosted the event for the organisation which runs Sandwell, City and Rowley Regis Hospitals as well as Leasowes Intermediate Care Centre and GP practice Your Health Partnership, which covers six sites across Sandwell.
Dr Huma Naqvi took the coveted ‘Employee of the Year’ crown for her contribution to the orthogeriatrics and geriatrics medicine and for the wellbeing support she provided to junior and senior medics at the Trust.
She said: “It’s a fantastic honour to be recognised for my contribution by my colleagues and great to be representing the service.
“I recently celebrated 10 years at the Trust, and it’s the perfect way to mark the anniversary.”
Huma was voted as the majority winner by the 8,000-strong staff from the Trust.
There were 13 categories in total, including the Partnerships within the Community Award which was won jointly by midwife Angela Arnold and Jayne Salter-Scott with the Youth Forum.
Meanwhile, others who were recognised included The Cancer Hotline team for the Clinical Team of the Year award. The service was launched a year ago and urges people in Sandwell and West Birmingham to call the team if they are suffering from symptoms of the disease. They will be triaged and assessed over the phone and then referred to the relevant service if they need further investigating.
Lead Cancer Nurse, Jo Harvey, said: “It’s a real honour for the team to be acknowledged for their hard work. Figures for the first year show that 40 per cent of people calling in have been referred to the two week wait cancer pathway, demonstrating it’s a much needed service which is making a difference to the health of our population.”
Chairman Sir David Nicholson said at the event: “We have a dedicated, compassionate and ambitious workforce who are respectful to their patients and their needs. This is what The Star Awards demonstrates as it highlights the great work they do.
“The staff continue to deliver outstanding care to our population no matter what challenges they face and this event is a chance for us to thank them for their hard work.
“I would like to thank our sponsors for this year’s event, without whom it would not have been possible for us to put on such a wonderful evening.”
The Star Awards was sponsored by headline sponsors, Amazon Web Services and The University of Wolverhampton, alongside other sponsors; Equans, MTS Health Limited, Your Trust Charity, Q Park, Capsticks, Woodreed, Heimstaden, Tendable, Oceans Blue, Morgan McKinley, Mindray, Wavenet, Platform81, Ricoh, Natwest and Health Care Relocations.
See the full list of winners here: www.swbh.nhs.uk/about-us/the-star-awards/the-star-awards-2023/