Showcasing local Trust innovation and brilliance in the NHS Parliamentary Awards
Posted: 24 May 2024
The MP for Watford Dean Russell has sponsored five nominations on behalf of West Herts Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust in the NHS Parliamentary Awards.
The national awards provide MPs with an opportunity to celebrate outstanding members of staff for the positive difference they have made within their local communities.
Dean said: “It’s a real privilege to be able to highlight the brilliance of staff at West Herts Teaching Hospitals in this way. I’ve enjoyed reading how teams are making a real difference for patients through innovation or raising awareness of issues and making changes for the better. I wish all the nominees the best of luck.”
Regional finalists will be published on 10 June and overall winners will be announced on 1 July at an awards ceremony in London. The nominees from West Herts include:
Raising sepsis awareness
Lynnette Mupopoma, Sepsis Clinical Nurse Specialist, is nominated for the Excellence in Healthcare award for her efforts to raise awareness of sepsis which affects 48,000 patients a year in the UK. Because of her initiatives, there has been a notable decrease in sepsis-related mortality rates, with early detection and intervention leading to swift recovery, reduced hospital stays and significantly improved patient outcomes.
Improving A&E performance
Sinead Doherty, Emergency Department Performance Manager, and Reahna Muncey, Assistant Service Manager for Acute Medicine, have played an instrumental role in achieving and sustaining performance against national A&E targets. Their commitment merited a nomination in the Excellence in Urgent and Emergency Care category. Their proactive approach and tireless efforts to empower staff have significantly improved the movement of patients through A&E and streamlined assessment processes which is great news for patients.
Multiprofessional learning via the simulation suite team
The simulation suite team is nominated for the Excellence in Education and Training award for delivering simulation-based education to thousands of healthcare staff since 2017. Dr Ratna Makker, Bruce Kerr and Mary Holding design and deliver multiprofessional simulation scenarios so teams who work together in daily practice also get the chance to learn together.
The Great British Handwash
Cheryl Atkins, Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) support worker, celebrated her 45th year of continuous NHS service at West Herts this year. She has devoted the last 16 of these to supporting IPC which deserves recognition in the Lifetime Achievement award. Cheryl creates unique, fun and memorable campaigns such as the Great British Handwash which teach staff to follow basic IPC practices.
VR game makes MRI scans child's play
Trainee doctors Andrew Zhou and Rohan Misra in collaboration with VR developer Neeti Kumar are transforming the experience of MRI scans for children through a virtual reality (VR) game. The end goal is to calm and distract children during a scan to generate better quality MRI images, avoiding the need for rescans or for sedation. The Trust hopes this will impress the judges of the Future NHS award.
Ends
- Read more about the NHS Parliamentary Awards
- For more information, please contact the communications team on: 01923 436280 or email: westherts.communications@nhs.net. Out of hours, please call the Watford General Hospital switchboard on 01923 244366 and ask for the on call communications manager.
- West Hertfordshire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust serves people from across Hertfordshire, north London and further afield. It operates from three hospitals; Watford General, St Albans City and Hemel Hempstead. The trust has a catchment area of over 600,000 people and is one of the largest employers locally, with around 5,800 staff and volunteers.
- For more information about our hospitals, visit the trust website. You can also join us on Facebook, X (Twitter), YouTube and LinkedIn @WestHertsNHS
