Staff Excellence Awards - Kent and Medway NHS and Social Care ...

NHS and Social Care Partnership Trust 

Kent and Medway 

NHS and Social Care Partnership Trust 

Staff Excellence Awards 2008 

The winners! 

At last, the results of the very first Kent and 

Medway Partnership Trust Staff Excellence 

Awards can be revealed! 

Seven awards categories were up for grabs and 

there were no fewer than 211 nominations received 

from staff, service users, carers and members of 

the public by the time the voting process closed in 

September. 

These awards have been designed to recognise 

the hard work and effort that goes into caring for 

our clients. NHS staff rarely get the recognition they 

deserve for all the wonderful work they do. These 

awards were designed to go some way towards 

rectifying that by acknowledging and rewarding 

those members of staff who, day-in, day-out, work 

tirelessly without complaint and simply ‘get on with 

their jobs’ to make a real difference to other 

people's lives. 

These awards categories are: 

• The Bright Spark Award 

• Mentor/Coach of the Year 

• The Team of the Trust 

• Achievement in Learning 

and Development 

• Volunteer of the Year 

• The Unsung Hero Award 

• Above and Beyond 

Kent and Medway 

Staff Excellence 

Awards 2008 

The judging panel had a tough time working 

through the nominations to decide who from the 

very many deserving cases should be shortlisted 

for each of the awards categories. But, as difficult 

as it was, a decision had to be made; on the 

following pages you’ll find information about the 

winning individuals or teams within each of the 

seven awards categories, as well as those who 

receive Runners-up or Highly Commended 

awards within each section. 

On December 5 at a gala evening held within the 

beautiful setting of Leeds Castle, seven of them 

walked away as winners of the very first Trust 

Staff Excellence Awards. They are, we hope, the 

first of many. 

Winning individuals take away a trophy and a 

cheque for £200 to spend however they wish 

within their particular NHS service. Winning teams 

collect a trophy plus £400. Runners-up and Highly 

Commended nominees will take away a certificate 

in recognition of their fantastic achievement in 

being shortlisted for an award. 

To everyone else within the Trust who was 

nominated but didn’t make it onto the shortlist, we 

also extend our congratulations in the knowledge 

that someone out there has recognised the great 

work you do. 

And for those who didn’t receive a nomination 

on this occasion, remember there’s always next 

time. 

Now turn the page to discover who won what! 

www.kmpt.nhs.uk/staffawards 

Kent & Medway NHS and Social Care Partnership Trust Partnership Matters December 2008 9

Staff Excellence Awards 

Bright Spark 

An award made to an individual or team 

to recognise their innovative ideas. 

Winner: 

Sue Venables Senior Clinical Audit Facilitator, 

Queen Mary Hospital 

Sue Venables is a Senior Clinical Audit Facilitator, acts as a lead for 

NICE processes and implementation, manages the clinical audit web 

site, and manages to tackle all of her work with enthusiasm and 

commitment while also thinking of more effective ways of working. 

A recent idea was to use clinical audit software not simply to 

collect audit data but to utilise the on-line facility to enable electronic 

data collection. Initially, it was envisaged that to develop online data 

collection, the Trust would need to invest in additional software. 

However, Sue managed to get the current software to support data 

collection through an e-mailed questionnaire. This method not only 

avoided the additional expense of upgraded software, it also offered 

huge potential to save staff time in the Trust. 

Benefits of Sue’s work include reduced cost and improved data 

quality. Sue has already trialled the process with a survey regarding 

vulnerable adults (for review and redesign) and is exploring the 

feasibility of using the same technology for NICE evaluations, 

awareness of policies and fact finding to support Information 

Governance. Sue not only has bright ideas, she follows them up with 

a bubbly optimistic ‘can do’ approach; a real bright spark! 

Runner up: Gwen OʼBrien, CRHT/Inpatient Manager, The Springs 

Gwen has been involved in setting up a project group across acute 

services (ward + CRHT + service users + carers) to participate in 

Creating Capable Teams Approach (CCTA). It enhances access and 

flow across the acute pathway and introduces opportunities for staff 

to rotate into different posts and learning opportunities. 

Gwen’s project also focussed on working with her client group, as 

she explains: “CCTA allowed us to identify where service 

users/carers wanted the service to develop. An implementation group 

has been set up to implement the Action Plan from the project. The 

project has vastly improved service user/carer involvement and 

developed a greater understanding between all parties. 

I have developed rotational working between the CRHT and the 

Inpatient service which has enhanced skills and understanding of the 

acute care pathway well. It has allowed for a more flexible workforce 

and enhanced professional development of staff while improving the 

patient experience by creating greater continuity of care.” 

Highly commended: Danielle Gear, Occupational Therapist, 

Trevor Gibbens Unit 

Danielle is the lead OT for the forensic women's service and has 

shown a huge amount of commitment to an extremely difficult client 

group. She has continuously motivated the women to engage in the 

therapeutic programme by introducing new ideas and activities. 

This year in particular she has secured funding from outside of the 

NHS to introduce dance as a form of exercise for the women with 

huge successes. Danielle is an inspiration to anyone who is 

considering becoming an OT and is an extremely valuable member of 

our team. (Since being nominated, Danielle has moved to a new 

position within the Trust based at St Barthlomew’s in Rochester.) 

10 Kent & Medway NHS and Social Care Partnership Trust Partnership Matters December 2008


Mentor of the Year 

An award for someone who has demonstrated an excellence in mentoring or provided a level 

of professional/personal support, guidance or supervision to any individual or team. 

Winner: 

Elena Oro, Locality Manager for Psychological 

Therapies, The Courtyard 

In the psychology and counseling service, Elena has responsibility 

for a team of highly dedicated, hard-working and capable staff. She 

has been head of the Maidstone Primary Care Psychology & 

Counselling Service for seven years and, for the last year, has also 

been Locality Head of Psychological Therapies & Services in the 

Maidstone locality. 

To successfully manage varied services and staff, Elena believes in 

creating an atmosphere in which staff will feel supported and 

encouraged to deliver their best in service to others. Elena 

encourages team member’s independence, diversity, and 

uniqueness. She achieves this by having an open-door policy, 

focusing on staying open-minded and being able to listen to and be 

available to staff, and spending time with them. 

Elena can sum up her approach to mentoring quite easily; “I see 

my role as that of facilitating and supporting staff so that they may 

provide the best services possible to clients referred into the Service. 

My role involves being a manager, supervisor, consultant, mentor, 

practitioner. I firmly believe in encouraging people to find and be their 

best, to develop their unique potential. And in that way, I believe we 

can all contribute to the health and well-being of those around us.” 

Runner up: Alison Culverwell, Head of Older Peopleʼs Psychological 

Services, Eastern and Coastal, Gregory House 

Alison believes that staff are the most valuable element in providing 

good care for service users. Enabling staff to develop personally and 

professionally to reach their full potential is, therefore, crucial for her 

service, and good for her staff’s psychological well-being. Alison has 

encouraged staff development in a number of ways, including linking 

with others, both inside and outside of the Trust, to provide a range 

of learning supervision, support, and information. 

Alison should be particularly proud of the number of undergraduate 

and postgraduate clinical trainees who have had placements with her 

team and later gone on to work with older people. She hopes this 

reflects the supportive nature of the service: “I suppose I believe that 

however good the bricks are, without sound foundation and 

appropriate mortar, the wall will not stay upright.” 

Highly commended: Dee Crockard, Clinical Psychologist, 

St Johnʼs Centre 

Dee feels an important part of her role as team psychologist is to 

offer consultation as a means of supporting colleagues and, in turn, 

the clients they work with. Part of this is being able to offer a 

psychological perspective on service users’ difficulties within a 

holistic recovery-orientated approach to working. 

Dee does this by taking an active interest in building relationships 

with individual staff members, offering them formal and informal 

opportunities to discuss difficulties surrounding their cases. 

Dee understands that colleagues need the space to ventilate, while 

at the same time validating the different feelings that may be evoked 

from working with very complex clients, and she does this by 

encouraging joint-working on difficult cases. 



Team of the Trust 

An award made to the best team in the Trust; a team that works together to achieve and to 

improve the lives of service users and carers. 

Winner: Therapies Team, Arundel Unit 

Considered by colleagues to be a motivated and dedicated team, the 

Therapies Team at the Arundel Unit never pay lip service to the ethos 

of excellent patient care. However, at the centre of this ethos is a 

client-centred approach to recovery and the aim to help each client 

realise their full potential. 

The team are aware that they are there to facilitate this, and clients 

hold the responsibility for their own recovery; the team acknowledge 

that ‘preaching’ recovery does not help a person but ‘enabling’ does. 

By readdressing the power balance between therapist and client so it 

is a ‘person to person’ relationship, the team can provide care around 

the clients’ wants and needs. This has often been considered to 

challenge accepted norms of a client’s role in an inpatient setting; the 

team often has to take therapeutic risks to challenge, educate and 

empower clients. 

Over the last year, the therapies team has found themselves 

working alongside the transition team to bring quality experiences to 

the day to day life on the wards to improve the therapeutic milieu; but 

of course, this is something they have been striving towards for many 

years. 

Runner up: Penshurst/Scotney Team, Trevor Gibbens Unit 

Consisting of Nursing Staff, Occupational Therapists, Domestics, 

Psychology staff, Social Workers and Consultant Psychiatrists, 

Penshurst/Scotney Team demonstrates and acts as a role model for 

multi-disciplinary team working. The multi-disciplinary team 

approach is not just a 'cliché' but truly exists and works for the 

benefit of the patients. The team exercises this philosophy on a daily 

basis; supporting the patients through recovery and engaging in a 

way that promotes empowerment together with respect and dignity. 

In February 2007, the team achieved Practice Development Unit 

(PDU) accreditation and have continued to maintain this since by 

continuing to focus on positive changes for the patients and their 

carers. The team is committed to the service they work in but, most 

of all, to the patients they are in daily contact with. 

Highly commended: Substance Misuse Team, Bridge House 

From the Detoxification Manager to the Support Workers, the team at 

Bridge House consists of a group of individuals who are passionate 

and experienced in their work with a group of clients who are 

challenging but rewarding to work with. 

Last year they relocated to a new 16-bedded unit. This was 

challenging as not only did client numbers increase, but the team had 

to adapt their treatment philosophy to cater to a more varied option 

approach to treatment. This change was successful due to the hard 

work and good will of individuals within the team. 



Learning & Development 

This award is for an individual who has worked hard in undertaking some form of learning and development that has translated into a clear 

benefit for the individual and for the Trust by enhancing their work performance. They may have achieved a recognised qualification, 

successfully undertaken a course of study whilst working for the Trust, or they may have worked tirelessly to improve their skills such as 

literacy, numeracy, IT or clinical skills. 

Joint Winner: Chris Cutmore, Mental Health Nurse, Trevor Gibbens Unit 

At the time of receiving nominations, Chris was a keen, motivated and popular 

student nurse who was passing all of his clinical placement assessments and 

studies with flying colours. Since then, Chris has gone on to qualify as a Mental 

Health Nurse; something that might easily have never happened. 

As Chris began his last year of education in 2007, his wife Karyn was diagnosed 

with a rare form of cancer and he was torn as to whether to continue his training 

or give up. However, Chris persevered and this year he gained a diploma and 60 

credits at degree level. He managed to achieve this despite going through the 

rollercoaster of emotions that a fight against cancer brings, and while also caring 

for two young children. Sadly, Karyn passed away in October of this year. 

Chris’s colleagues are amazed at everything Chris has managed to come 

through in the past year and hold him high in their estimation for everything he 

has achieved. In return, Chris would like to thank them for being there for him and 

offering support whenever he needed it. 

Joint Winner: Leah Scott, Staff Nurse, Hucking Hill House 

When Leah applied for secondment, in 2005, she became the first secondee to 

enter the scheme from an admin post. It was not long before both the university 

and the Trust became aware that this was an exceptional individual; mentors have 

commented on Leah's drive and ability to bring research into practice. In July, 

Leah gained a First Class Degree. This is an outstanding achievement, not only for 

Leah, but for the Trust, as she becomes our first admin secondee to gain a 'First'. 

However, this journey was even more important for Leah, as she explains: “I 

enjoyed a good salary, an enviable lifestyle, and was rarely called upon to mix 

with the staff actually delivering the service on the ground. I certainly never 

came into contact with a patient or a service user. However, quite unexpectedly, 

I found myself hospitalised, the victim of a serious assault by my husband, and 

suddenly, my life collapsed like a set of dominoes, leaving me homeless, 

jobless, and with three children to care for. At that moment, I gained an insider’s 

perspective of what despair feels like. Consequently, when the opportunity 

arose to apply for secondment came, I took it.” 

Achieving a first class degree has been a hard won battle for Leah. She found 

that the sheer volume of work involved was overwhelming at times, but was soon 

put into perspective when she was able to put her learning into place in practice, 

and make a real difference to people’s lives. 

Highly commended: Susan Preston, Deputy Activity Leader, Archery House 

Taking the Lead Role in August 2007 within the Activities Service at Archery 

House as a Deputy Activity Leader, Sue has worked to achieve a more serviceuser-led, 

community-based service. This involved working closely with other 

providers of day services and liaising with private organisations. Sue has 

modernised the day services in line with the ‘Valuing People’ document. 

The opportunities that are offered to individuals include woodwork, art/drama, 

supported employment, travelling skills and personalised development skills that 

would have been identified at individual Person Centred Plan meetings. 

Sue has devised all the documentation into a service-user-friendly format and 

holds regular meetings with clients to discuss how they feel and what they 

would like from the activities that are offered. The service that Sue has 

developed is now well-known locally and has received calls from outside 

agencies requesting access for clients outside the Trust to be referred. 



Volunteer of the Year 

This will be awarded to a volunteer who makes a valued difference by giving up their own 

time to improve that of others. 

Winner: Julie (Jools) Wright, Volunteer Gardener, Priority House 

Even those who do not visit Priority House regularly know Jools by 

face. She does an excellent job in the Priority House gardens, where 

you’ll find her come hail, rain, snow or shine. Colleagues consider it a 

pleasure to work alongside her. Her enthusiasm and energy is 

contagious, and there’s no question that Priority House would not be 

the same without her. 

But she is considered to be so much more than just a gardener. In 

fact, she is considered by many to be a close friend who has that 

rare ability to accept people as they are. Her sensitivity and 

understanding of others has led many people to look to her for 

guidance and she has always shown generosity of her time and spirit. 

Her many voluntary projects with the homeless, Blackthorn Trust 

gardens, and people with long-term illness, are evidence of her 

qualities. Her current work redesigning the extensive grounds at 

Priority House is testimony to her considerable ability and sheer hard 

work and dedication. She is motivated purely by love and concern 

for others. 

Runner up: Alan Dodson, Ward Volunteer, Laurel House 

Alan is recognised as an outstanding volunteer who gives Winslow 

Day Hospital total commitment. 

His time at the hospital varies from making sure patients are 

comfortable and are having their needs addressed, through to taking 

them for blood tests and out-patient appointments. He also assists in 

organising group activities on the ward. 

Alan admits though, that volunteering is never completely selfless. 

He says: “My confidence and self-esteem have grown immensely 

during my time at the hospital. I couldn’t imagine ever doing anything 

else.” 

Highly commended: Hayley Camp, Library Volunteer, 

St Martinʼs Hospital 

Hayley began working as a volunteer at St Martin’s library in 2007. 

She worked to establish a ward-based reading project to help 

patients engage with books and literature. She took reading materials 

around to wards at St Martin's and spent much time sitting with 

patients and reading with or to them, or just talking to patients about 

things they had read in the past. Hayley quickly got to know their 

likes and dislikes and helped the library team to establish a patient 

library collection that closely reflected patient needs. Hayley's 

professionalism and patience were just two of her many qualities as a 

volunteer that helped to make this project such a great success. 



Unsung Hero 

An award for any member of staff who has not yet had their chance to shine in the spotlight; a 

member of staff who is consistently reliable, adaptable and hasn’t had the recognition they deserve. 

Winner: Housekeeping Team, St Martinʼs Hospital 

Since the Housekeeping Team took over the cleaning duties 

at St Martin’s, the overall quality of the cleanliness has 

improved by nearly 40%. They achieved this by 

incorporating a deep-cleaning schedule for the inpatient 

areas and, to prevent too much disruption to the running of 

the wards, they team took it upon themselves to begin work 

at 06.30. These successes have greatly improved team 

morale; staff are happier, are willing to do anything that is 

asked of them, and have begun to take more pride in the 

work they do. And the higher standards have been 

commented on by clients and ward managers, so the team 

know they are doing a good job. 

Reflecting on the changes within the team, they say of 

themselves: “We are not afraid of hard work and help each 

other out when the occasion calls for it. It is a much happier 

working environment now that we are all pulling together.” 

Runner up: Sue Hill, Chef, Eating Disorders Service 

In her official role as service chef, Sue has to provide healthy, 

nutritious and calorie-counted meals for all kinds of diets, 

including vegan, vegetarian, celiac and for patients with food 

allergies. Much of the knowledge needed to allow her to cater 

for these varied dietary requirements has been acquired in her 

own time. 

And despite her role in the team being described as 

'chef', Sue is happy to take on any job that needs doing – for 

anybody. Not only does she work hard as a chef, she also 

takes on administrative work, runs the service vehicle, and 

chaperones the inpatients to other hospital appointments 

when needed. 

In fact, whenever a new member of staff joins the team, 

colleagues always have one piece of advice for them: “If you 

need to know anything, ask Sue.” 

Highly commended: Janice Brown and John Whyte, 

Receptionists, Laurel House 

Janice and John are the faces of the very busy reception 

area at Laurel House. Over the last few years their workload 

has increased significantly, but they continue to carry out 

their roles with efficiency and goodwill. Dealing with the 

public face-to-face means that they have had to contend 

with many incidents involving distressed or unwell clients, 

but they have always shown kindness and compassion while 

acting in a calm and professional manner 

The vast amount of knowledge they have accumulated 

over the years has also resulted in excellent organisational 

skills but, just as important, they always manage to maintain 

a sense of humour – even when lesser mortals might feel like 

screaming! 



Above and Beyond 

Awarded to an individual or team who have found themselves going ‘Above and Beyond’ the 

call of duty, either regularly or on a single occasion. 

Winner: 

Clair Vine, Client Services Manager, Little Brook 

Hospital, Dartford 

Clair’s personality and approach to teamwork consistently 

demonstrates she has the best interest of the patients at heart at all 

times. 

For example, her work to ensure patients’ dignity and selfconfidence 

is maintained at all times is clearly demonstrated by the 

system she has put in place to ensure toiletry packs are accessible to 

all newly admitted clients. 

The focus on clients at Christmas and Easter, by working with local 

businesses to ensure patients have gifts, is another example of Clair 

going Above and Beyond her duty. Her availability to clients, no 

matter what the situation or time of day, makes her a worthy winner 

of this award. 

As Clair points out, “If you have to keep revisiting a patient to build 

a rapport or sit on the floor with them to help gain their trust, it is 

worth putting in every effort!” 

Runner up: Kevan Dunne, Support Time Recovery Worker, 

George Villa 

Kevan’s dedication to the Early Intervention/Charlton Athletic Football 

club client programme has already helped improve confidence, selfesteem, 

and general outlook for many of the service’s clients. 

This summer, Kevan proposed a widening of the programme 

beyond football to include fishing, graffiti art, urban dance and 

DJ’ing. To make this idea work, Kevan has had to juggle running the 

programme alongside his OT training commitments (in the second 

year of a four-year part time degree), and has undertaken extra 

training off his own back to ensure the success of the programme. 

Taking stock of all this work Kevan says, “It’s been worth every 

hour to see clients looking happier and more confident every week 

and transferring their new found interests/skills into their lives outside 

the service.” Kevan would also like it to be known that he’s actually a 

Gillingham fan! 

Highly commended: Charley Melville, Social Worker, 

Sittingbourne Memorial Hospital 

Charley’s story occurred at the end of an out-of-hours shift and 

lasted until the early hours of the following day, when one of her 

service users was threatening to take their own life. 

With Charley’s assistance, the client was finally persuaded to stop 

their actions and allow the emergency services to help them. After 

the incident, the police told Charley that they believe there would not 

have been a positive outcome without her perseverance and 

commitment in what was an extremely intense situation. Now the 

service user involved in the incident is recovering well, and when they 

say to Charley, “You saved my life”, they really do mean it.

Staff Excellence Awards - Kent and Medway NHS and Social Care ...

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