Estates and Facilities Department

Nomination

Award Category:

Estates & Ancillary

Individual or Team Nomination?

Team

Qualifying Qualities

In these challenging times, nominators were asked to show how the nominee had demonstrated the following qualities:

Exceptional work ethic - going above and beyond their job description, especially in the past 12 months.
Outstanding achievement/s in work or outside of the organisation where relevant.
Drive for innovation and proactive leadership in these challenging times.
High level of interpersonal skills, such as kindness, empathy, loyalty and thoughtfulness to staff and patients.
A resilience considering Covid to their role and to the health and wellbeing of their colleagues.

Nominators Answer

Nominee's story :

March 2020 drove significant change in how everyone in the estate’s team worked. While the country locked down, this team were on the frontline risking exposure to COVID to protect patients. Alongside medical colleagues, working tirelessly, they provided patients and staff with nutritious meals, upheld the highest standards of hospital cleanliness, which directly prevented the virus spreading and implemented new rigorous infection control standards. All the time working in highly restrictive PPE. Carpenters and plumbers were deployed to increase the number of wash stations, porters were dealing with a massive increase of patients arriving by car, ambulance and on foot. Security not only maintained order but reassured patients and concerned families. This dedicated team went above and beyond, leveraging their training and common sense to deliver an efficient machine. As the pandemic escalated, members of the team started to test COVID positive. Staffing numbers fell and those remaining, worked extraordinarily long hours. Aware they were risking taking the virus home to their families, they continued to demonstrate an allegiance for their colleagues and hospital. Our district hospital, one of the busiest in the East of England, at times had over 30 patients in Intensive Care. Our domestic staff who became the only visitors’ in-patients saw, shared a few minutes to talk to patients offering kindness and reassure. Highly supportive and respectful of their colleagues, the Estates and Facilities team recognise this year has been extremely challenging for everyone. Encouraging a 'patient first' approach, a culture of acknowledgement and respect for each other, maximising their potential, working as one team and encouraging ideas for staff at all levels. This pandemic brought out the best in the team and many lessons were learnt and have since helped improve services and safety for staff and patients. When the second wave hit in January, they were called upon once again to put themselves on the frontline, but this time better prepared. As a community we probably don’t appreciate the hard work and dedication these people have given. Sadly, we can forget the people that work in the background without whose dedication, routine systems would not function. The team surpassed themselves with the handling of the pandemic, always on the forefront of adapting to the needs of the organisation and importantly, never saying no!