NHS Heroes go the extra mile to tackle winter challenges

During the severe winter weather the Out of Hours Nursing Team worked to provide care overnight and every request was responded to. The teams had to walk to many visits, due to roads being inaccessible

1 More Image(s) In Gallery

The dedication and commitment of a community-based team from Pennine Care NHS Foundation Trust has been highlighted as part of the national NHS Winter Heroes Awards.

The award, which is a seasonal ‘spin-off’ of the annual NHS Heroes Award, recognises NHS staff, teams or departments who go the extra mile to deliver exceptional care to patients during the winter months, which are always particularly challenging for NHS staff.

The Out of Hours Nursing Team, which covers Heywood, Middleton and Rochdale, Bury and Oldham was nominated by Maria Brookes, Lead Night Nurse, who said: “The Out of Hours Nursing service has recently been redesigned to provide a standardised service.

“During the severe winter weather the team worked to provide care overnight across all three areas and every request was responded to. The teams had to walk to many visits, due to roads being inaccessible.

“To support service continuity for patients, some staff stayed overnight at colleagues’ homes to ensure they could be available for the next shift. The willingness of all the staff was commendable and they are true 'winter heroes'.

“All year round, the Out of Hours Nursing Service provides comfort, safety, care and compassion to patients, which allows them to experience continuity of care within their own homes.

“They sometimes work against the odds and often beyond the call of duty. I am proud to be part of this service and to lead such a great team.”

Out of Hours Nursing Team is responsible for proving care to people outside the normal working hours of GP and other community services. They provide high quality care for a wide range of conditions and play a vital role in helping people avoid being admitted to hospital unnecessarily and provide a seamless link between ‘in hours’ and ‘out of hours’ services, which ensures continuity of care for people.

The teams’ achievements have been recognised by Pennine Care’s Chairman John Schofield who presented them with a certificate and a personal letter of thanks. 

He said: “I’m delighted that the hard work and dedication has been highlighted on such a prestigious level and I’d like to congratulate them on their achievement.

“Winter is a difficult time for all NHS staff and the frequent bad weather we have had this winter has put additional challenges in their path. This particular story shows how hard staff have worked to overcome these and highlight the level of dedication and commitment they have to their patients.

“Every single person who works for the NHS is a hero in one way or another, but it’s heart warming to hear stories such as these where teams have worked together to go over and above what is expected of them.”

Nominations are now open for the 2013 NHS Heroes Awards and people are encouraged to highlight any examples of excellent community or mental health care they have received by nominating an individual or team who they feel has gone the extra mile.

Even the smallest act of consideration can make big difference to someone’s life, for example sharing some precious time, off­ering a hand to hold, a shoulder to lean on or a few words of comfort.

These are just a few of the things that thousands of NHS Heroes provide every day to make sure that each and every patient receives the very best care.

If people know someone who goes the extra mile or gives that little bit extra, they can show them how much they appreciate it by nominating them as their NHS Hero. It will only take a few minutes of their time but the pride of being nominated will stay with their hero forever.

People can nominate their NHS Hero and find out more at www.nhsheroes.com. The deadline for nominations is midnight on 19 June.