The winners were announced at an event at The Place Aparthotel in Manchester on 3rd February 2017. The event included guest speakers, including Roy Lilley, NHS health policy analyst, writer and commentator, and Enid Dunn, winner of the 2016 Unsung Hero Award.
The winners of the Unsung Hero Award are:
• Julie Feist – Advanced Medical Receptionist (Medway Community Healthcare – Kent) “Not only is Julie considered to be a truly caring individual who shares food with patients and gives them money to buy the little things they need, she even saved a patient’s life and ensured when this patient was released from care they received appropriate treatment.”
• Mark Thorpe – Volunteer on the Psychiatric Ward (Sheffield Health and Social Care) “Mark’s story is one that really resonated with us as it demonstrated an incredible commitment. He receives no payment or financial reward and yet he spends his own money on prizes and karaoke equipment that the Trust do not have the budget for.”
• Ali Jallow & Andy Tobin – Security Operatives (Stockport NHS Foundation Trust) “This is a truly a special case as it is the first time we have ever given a joint award to 2 x Unsung Heroes. Ali and Andy demonstrated incredible courage and compassion for a patient who absconded from the A&E department they worked in, they followed this patient and prevented them from jumping off a bridge in an attempt to end their own life. This patient turned out to be a professional kick boxer and they managed to save them but not without personal harm to themselves and were able to ensure that they received appropriate treatment.”
Special mention: • Tanya Lewis – Administrator (Westminster NHS Foundation Trust) “Tanya deserves a special mention as she was nominated by 5 different individuals from different departments across the Trust where she works. We thought there was no better way to explain how amazing Tanya is than by showing you some of the things that were said about her: “We would all be utterly lost without her”, “She is the definition of a team player” and “There is not a day where she does not go above and beyond the call of her duty.”
Each of the winners were awarded with a trophy and an iPad Air, as a token of appreciation for their hard work and going above and beyond what is expected of them.
Mark Cherry said: “The NHS doesn’t get enough credit, especially when it comes to non-medical staff, so it’s great to host these awards and make NHS staff feel special and proud of the hard word they do every day.”
The awards were created by GoToJobBoard, an online job board for non-medical and non-clinical roles. Their mission is to raise awareness regarding the non-medical job opportunities within the NHS and to encourage more people to consider it as a career option.