NHS unsung heroes celebrated at glittering awards ceremony

Date published: 13 December 2022

The care, compassion and dedication of NHS staff was recognised at the Pennine Care People Awards ceremony (1 December).

12 awards were given to teams and individuals who work for Pennine Care NHS Foundation Trust, which provides mental health, learning disability and autism services across Heywood, Middleton and Rochdale, Bury, Oldham, Stockport, and Tameside.

The awards aim to celebrate and thank the unsung heroes who go above and beyond to improve the lives of patients, families, and carers. 

After a two-year break due to the covid pandemic, over 400 guests enjoyed a glittering celebration at a Manchester hotel. The event was entirely paid for by external sponsorship, including main sponsor Civica.

Gold medal winning paralympic champion Aaron Phipps hosted the evening’s awards and delivered an inspiring and heart-warming speech about how the NHS saved his life.

Youth support workers Claire Chadwick and Jessica Smith from the Heywood, Middleton and Rochdale child and adolescent mental health service won the Great Innovation award. The award recognised their inspiring work to support young people waiting for a mental health assessment. 

Meanwhile Chris Hardy, care co-ordinator with the Heywood, Middleton, and Rochdale learning disability team won the Rising Star award. Since joining less than a year ago, Chris has become an inspiration by developing creative approaches to meet vulnerable patients’ needs.

Kathy McGuirk, operational manager for the Greater Manchester Resilience Hub, won Inclusion Champion award for her work to ensure her team celebrate diversity, learn more about each other and be more inclusive.

The mental health joint response services in Heywood, Middleton and Rochdale, Bury, Oldham, Stockport, and Tameside won the Brilliant Partnership award. Mental health practitioners and officers from Greater Manchester Police jointly attend call outs, to better support people experiencing a mental health crisis. The award recognised the outstanding contribution the team have made, helping over 1000 people since it launched earlier this year.

Senior communications officer Dan Love took home the Comedic Genius award. This was in recognition of how his witty sense of humour helps to build effective relationships, brightens people’s day, and generates bucket loads of camaraderie.

Pennine Care chief executive Anthony Hassall, said: “It was a wonderful night and great opportunity to highlight our superstar teams and individuals. It’s so important to recognise and promote the remarkable achievements and exceptional work that’s taking place.”

Evelyn Asante-Mensah OBE, Pennine Care chair, added: “It was such an uplifting, inspiring, emotional, and joyful event, and a wonderful opportunity to thank and applaud teams and individuals. There were over 300 nominations received this year, which shows the huge amount of outstanding work happening right across the organisation.

“Many congratulations to everyone who was nominated, our finalist and winners. We are immensely proud of all our Pennine Care People.”

Gold medal winning paralympic champion Aaron Phipps, said: “The stories I heard were inspiring and humbling. Despite facing many challenges, the staff get up each morning determined to make a positive difference.

“You could really feel the love, joy and mutual respect in the room and I’m so glad I could be part of it.”

The awards were part of Pennine Care’s third Great Big Thank You week (28 November to 2 December 2022). This aims to recognise and thank colleagues across the organisation for their relentless hard work and outstanding achievements over the last 12 months.

Other activities during the week included an online raffle, with prizes supplied by sponsors, and free coffee and cake for colleagues, paid for through charitable funding.

People can find out more about the winners and other finalists at www.penninecare.nhs.uk/awards2022.