Colleagues gathered at Orsett Hall in Essex for our annual staff Make a Difference awards, where the highly commended and winners of nine categories were announced.

The Make a Difference Awards celebrate colleagues going the extra mile to show kindness and compassion to patients and co-workers alike and make improvements across NELFT services. 

The ceremony was hosted by Chief Nursing Officer, Wellington Makala. Judges from the executive team and Board ─ including Chief Executive, Paul Calaminus and Vice Chair, Sue Lees, Executive Medical Director, Dr Caroline Allum, and Chief Operating Officer, Brid Johnson ─ presented the awards to the winners and highly commended.

Chief Executive, Paul Calaminus, said:

“These awards are incredibly important and celebrating you and the work you’ve done is essential. 

 

“Each of you has shown dedication, commitment and compassionate practice through your actions and through your work.”

The nine categories included Care and Compassion, Innovation and Improvement, Rising Star and Team.

 

Vice Chair, Sue Lees, said to the nominees:

“We’re so grateful that each of you were able to attend this afternoon, and we can’t wait to get stuck in to handing out the trophies and certificates that you all so richly deserve.  

“You are quite literally the best people, and you help us to live up to our vision for delivering the best care by the best people.

“It has been a whirlwind and the winners and highly commended have been fantastic. Every time at the NELFT awards, I know that the executive team is blown away by how truly wonderful everyone nominated is.”

Make a Difference Awards 2024 Winners and Highly Commended

Care and Compassion

Winner: Afolashade Okunowo

Highly Commended: Christine Mace

Highly Commended: Anne Berry

Highly Commended: Graham Smith

Community

Winner: Veronica & Paul Lindsay-Addy

Innovation and Improvement

Winner: Strelle St Hill

Highly Commended: Suzanne Field

Leadership

Winner: Dean Rufai

Outstanding Achievement

Winner: Acute Respiratory Infection Virtual Ward team for Baking & Dagenham, Havering and Redbridge

Patient Leadership

Winner: Mark Halls

Rising Star

Winner: Andrea Wells

Team or Department

Winner: Barking & Dagenham East Locality District Nurses

Highly Commended: Children’s Paediatric Physiotherapy Team

Highly Commended: Emotional Wellbeing Team - Thanet

Working in Partnership

Winner: Licia Deplano

Highly Commended: Jeremy Marcantel