BWC Spirit Awards

Best Boss – For a manager or team leader who supports, develops and cares for their teams, and whose inspiring leadership motivates their colleagues.

Charity Champion – For an individual or team whose commitment to fundraising knows no bounds, finding creative and inspirational ways to raise money for our organisation.

Commitment to Diversity – For a colleague who has demonstrated a personal commitment to diversity and inclusion with a positive outcome for patients and/or colleagues.

Most Inspiring Colleague – This award is for an individual who puts health and wellbeing front and centre, inspiring those around them through their unwavering support, creative ideas and dedication.

Outstanding Clinical Team – For a clinical team whose care truly is world-leading, delivering the very best service to patients and their families.

Outstanding Support Team – For a non-clinical team who has gone above and beyond in supporting their colleagues to deliver the very best service to patients and their families.

Research, Innovation and Quality Improvement – For an individual or team who has found resourceful, innovative ways to improve, or make positive changes to their service for patients and staff, by either developing research, or finding ways to do things more cost effectively.

Rising Star – For an individual who has been in their role a short time but encompasses our Values and exceeds expectations (including intern, apprentice, work experience trainee or employee).

Unsung Hero – For an individual or team who works behind the scenes, doing fantastic things but who may not always be recognised – this is your chance to let them shine.

Volunteer of the Year – For the most enthusiastic, passionate and caring volunteer, whose selfless contribution we would be lost without.

Brighter Futures - For the individual or team which has helped make Birmingham and beyond a better place by championing health inequalities, sustainability, population health or community engagement.

Moment of Magic – For a member of staff who went above and beyond to make a family’s experience really special. Nominated exclusively by our patients, families or friends.

WINNER — Dr Nudrat Rizvi, Washwood Heath Health and Wellbeing Centre, FTB — Nudrat has a deep understanding of autism and is always advocating for the inclusion of patients and staff with ADHD, learning disabilities, and autism spectrum disorder (ASD). She knows that many people with ASD also experience gender, eating and sensory issues. Nudrat supports them with great care, offering LGBTQ+ resources and she also educated the multi-disciplinary team (MDT) on how to utilize the right resources like Marmad Charity to support these young people with their gender identities.

Cultural Awareness Team, BCH — “The team has been a fantastic catalyst to help me more thoroughly consider how I can support other people in my work and personal life, and absolutely to live life in a more compassionate way, ensuring that I am considerate, respectful, and inclusive, and also represent the Trust as such.”

Lorenzo Magini, Trainee Clinical Scientist, BWH — Lorenzo has brought together a range of 8 different professionals from across the 3 divisions to show our diversity, cultural journeys, and diverse countries and how our personal experiences can determine where we go. By doing this it supported and challenged biases, educating others on what is behind the identity of the titles we hold and challenging the perceptions that others can have. All of these are our values as a Trust.

WINNER — Ellie Brewer - Bereavement Team, BWH — "Ellie came to us to take on a new role for the Bereavement Team at the Women's Hospital 2 years ago, before her role existed the team did not have the capacity to develop bereavement care within the Gynaecology directorate. She had not worked in women's health prior to this and took on the huge challenge of having to learn about a wide array of healthcare such as histopathology, genetics, and early pregnancy loss. She was brave and dived into this world so that she could learn and provide the best care for our bereaved families experiencing early pregnancy loss. She is passionate about women's experiences and raising standards of care and support for clinical teams."

Aaliyah Tariq, Pharmacy, BCH — "It is my honour to nominate Aaliyah for the Unsung Hero Award. As an accredited checking technician in our outpatient pharmacy, she embodies our trust values of compassion, ambition, and bravery in remarkable ways.

Working in a paediatric hospital requires a special kind of empathy and understanding, and she consistently goes above and beyond to ensure that every young patient and their family feels supported. Her warm demeanour and patient-centric approach have made a significant difference in the lives of countless families, providing them with the comfort and assurance they need during challenging times. She is always ready to lend an ear, offer a kind word, and provide personalised care, making her an invaluable asset to our team."

Isabel Morgan, Vital Services — "Isabel joined the supervisory team in facilities in August 2023 and has grown from strength to strength ever since. Isabel is a dedicated member of the team who goes above and beyond in her role, whether this is looking after staff wellbeing or being out on the wards getting stuck in with the staff. Isabel has organised multiple events for the facilities staff, across all sites, such as Facilities Day 2024 where she led sports day and 'The Great Facilities Bake Off'. No matter the task, Isabel exceeds expectations and does it with a smile on her face. She has led the team across all three hospital sites, and actively took part in every department; taking on switchboard shifts to help with staffing issues, being on the shop floor when the housekeepers need her and helping the porters with their duties. Isabel upholds the trust values to an outstanding level; no task is too big for her, she rises to any challenges she faces and actively cares for staff and patient wellbeing. Isabel has a bright future within our trust and is more than capable of achieving this, her 'can do' attitude makes her shine and she deserves recognition for this." 

WINNER — Keller Team, BWH — "The Keller Team are leading an exceptional service for women, babies and their families. They have been providing midwifery continuity of carer (MCoC) since January 2020, and in the last six months have ambitiously transformed the service to provide the most vulnerable women in South Birmingham the best possible care."

"They bravely advocated for us as a couple and our baby to ensure our continuity of care was upheld in the face of challenges. Their inclusivity of us as a couple and a whole family unit shines through at every appointment. Their consistency of excellent care was evident from the first antenatal visit to the last post-natal one. If someone I loved told me they were being looked after by the Keller Team, I would feel happy knowing they were in ambitious brave compassionate and safe hands."

FTB Learning Disabilities and DICE, MHS — "FTB LD and DICE are amazing MDTs who work together to provide a mental health service offering support, care and treatment for children and young people with a learning disability or autism and their families. The Learning Disability and DICE are a specialist service within Forward Thinking Birmingham."

Palliative Care Team, BCH — "They care for children across every department at the children's hospital site supporting medical teams with symptom control,  challenging and emotive discussions, end-of-life planning, MDTs, the writing of ACPs, escalation and symptom management care. They also support rapid discharges into the community, including organising hospice care and 24-hour palliative care support in the home to support the patient and family. They also attend patient clinics to provide continuing support, as well as providing trust-wide education."

WINNER — Dr Parida, PICU & Pharmacy, BCH— Dr Parida and the PICU and Pharmacy team were nominated for the speedy diagnosis and treatment of patient Baby Tom, who had an extremely rare condition. Tom arrived at PICU at just 6 months old and had doctors puzzled with his symptoms. When he came to the Children's Hospital, Tom declined rapidly and became extremely unwell. He was completely paralysed. Dr Parida’s knowledge came through as he diagnosed botulism, so rare that only 19 children have been diagnosed in the UK and no one in the hospital had seen it before. But once the diagnosis was established the team acted quickly to provide the right treatment, and swiftly organised for the correct medication to be sent from the only place in the world that made the antitoxin in California, USA.

Tom’s mum said: “Dr Parida did not only excel medically. From day one, we felt like we were on his team. He was extremely sympathetic, patient and generous, answering our endless questions with a great level of detail, honesty and reassurance. He was kind, thorough, and brilliant at his job, as were the whole team in PICU. We felt amazed and grateful for every interaction we had with the nurses and doctors at PICU. They made the most terrifying journey as manageable as it could have been."

Burns Team, BC — The Burns ward were nominated for helping a young patient with autism who had a fear of coming into hospital. Arthur had been burned on the cooker at home, and after an experience when he was very young he had developed a phobia of hospitals. The team on the Burns Ward made adaptations for Arthur and worked as a team to make him feel comfortable and happy. The team alleviated his fears and now Arthur looks forward to checkups as he gets to see the team again, particularly Play Worker, Wayne.

Arthur's mum said: "Wayne was so patient, so gentle, so kind, so full of fun, and always knew when to step back and just made Arthur feel so safe. I can't express how far above and beyond he went"

"The staff at BCH have changed Arthur's life moving forward by showing him that hospitals and doctors aren't scary and that he can even enjoy the experience. I can't state this strongly enough. I walked out today with tears in my eyes, because I couldn't believe the transformation. 

"The fact that my son has gone from too hysterical to receive any treatment, to walking into an appointment unmedicated and smiling is just breathtaking to me. All of that is down to your staff.”

Venesia Henry, BWH — Venesia was nominated for her care of Ellarae while she was on the neonatal ward and beyond. As well as her care of baby, she also looked after Mum with words of support and encouragement.

Mum said: “She gave me strength at my darkest of times. From the moment I was on neonatal when my daughter was just born Venesia was a constant support to me and my family I was dealing with being a new mom and having to look after a poorly baby.

"Ellarae is nearly 2 and still to this day she shows up in support of her she attended her christening which meant so much to me and my family, and a charity night which we held a few days ago to thank people like Venesia for the work they do.”

She's even climbing Snowden to raise money for the neonatal ward. What a hero."

WINNER — Angela Salmon, BCH — "Angela identified that there was more to this request: the individual had reached out because an unexpected change in personal circumstances meant they were at immediate risk of becoming homeless.

Angela took immediate action to seek a solution, investigating options and requesting flexibility in applying Trust policies so that this colleague could be helped. Over a couple of very challenging days for the individual, Angela worked to find a solution, keeping in touch with the individual at every step and maintaining their dignity."

Janet Evans, MHS — "Janet has worked at Parkview since its inception and has become the 'Oracle' and the heart of Parkview. This nomination is to show not only our thanks for all of her experience, wisdom and gratitude but also that, as she is front-facing, she is the person that young people see as they arrive, our visitors and staff as they enter Parkview for the first time. 

This can be a very daunting and scary experience for our young people and families and she offers them a safe, friendly, efficient experience and the feedback that we get is always positive. Janet is hugely compassionate, she will ensure that she does her most to seek support requested for all, offering good communications across the clinic and having wellbeing for all of the staff at the heart of what she does."

Victoria Hodgetts-Morton, BWH — "Vicky is our preterm prevention consultant. She is very passionate about the care she delivers for our women. Every Tuesday we have a preterm birth clinic and she always spends great time and energy ensuring the women's needs are met and questions answered. She is a great leader and ensures we as a team come together and introduces us to patients who may require extra support. Our service provides support to women and birthing people who have suffered pregnancy losses, or have had previous cervical surgery, or pre-term births.

Essentially any woman who is at risk of going into preterm birth or having a loss. We look after these patients with regular scans, cervical stitches or infection screening and a lot of compassion and reassurance."

WINNER — Lisa Butcher, Natalie Powell, and Dawn James —  “Lisa Butcher, Lead Nurse for Dermatology and Epidermolysis Bullosa (EB) and Natalie Powell, Inclusion Ambassador, have championed a first-of-its-kind project improving personal hair and skin care for Black and mixed heritage patients while they are in hospital. The project aims to make personal care more inclusive for those staying on wards.”

Dr Nudrat Rizvi —  “I am excited to nominate Nudrat for the Brighter Futures Award in recognition of her exceptional dedication to young people with autism and neurodiversity. Nudrat embodies our values of Ambition, Bravery, and Compassion, significantly enhancing our team's ability to provide effective care.

Recruitment Team: International Workforce Team — "I came to the UK all alone with no family and it was really hard at the beginning but the support I received from the Trust meant a lot to me. I received financial assistance and accommodation when I initially moved over here which was so great. My team have also been so lovely and supportive. I feel proud at how far I have come. I absolutely love my job, and I feel so settled now.” The programme supports nurses and midwives moving to the UK to join our Women's Hospital, Children's Hospital and Mental Health Services. 

WINNER - Sue Hobday, Medical Records - Head of Patient Admin Services  

Winner - Estates Department Fundraising Team

Last year, our Estates department raised more than £13,000 for our Children's Hospital Charity and, as a result, were able to ensure that every sick child in hospital during the Christmas period received a gift. This year they have set a more ambitious target to raise £50,000 taking on challenges such as the Yorkshire Three Peaks. Our Trust values are at the core of the Estates fundraising team as they are always driving to go over and beyond.

Guirish Solanki

A much-loved Consultant Neurosurgeon, Mr Solanki is an avid supporter of our charity. He has successfully hosted a number of conferences, including the world-renowned ISPN conference (International Society for Paediatric Neurosurgery) and has raised more than £105,000 for our Charity. He consistently lives our values, including showing immense ambition for delivering world-class events and meetings and helping to put our Children’s Hospital on the global stage.

William Lo

Mr Lo has been a huge asset to the fundraising team in the preparation, launch and ongoing promotion of the £1.5million iMRI Appeal, to bring intraoperative MRI technology to our hospital, to support brain surgery. He is a key part of the project team, developing the case for why this technology is needed and how it will help improve treatment for patients. He has also been the public face of the appeal, stepping out of his comfort zone to tell the story.

Winner - Nicki Twigg

We could never thank Nicki enough for the support she continues to give our family with warmth, friendliness and professionalism. In times of acute crisis, all we need to do is put out a plea for help, and Nicki will arrange to meet us as soon as she can, often outside of normal working hours - such is her dedication. Nothing is ever too much trouble and she somehow knows how to connect with the boys no matter what state of mind they are in.

Caitlin Ralphs

Caitlin is one of the most exceptional professionals we have encountered in our journey. Her strongest characteristic is the incomparable compassion she has for family-centred care; there are countless examples I could use because everything she does is under the umbrella of our whole family and she doesn’t use “family-centred care” as a buzzword, she lives it. She has on numerous occasions researched additional resources for me around the various challenges surrounding our son’s life as an amputee - he absolutely adores Caitlin.

Dr Lauren Young

Dr Young looked after our son William when he was admitted to NICU just hours old. I watched her do everything she could to save our son and when she couldn’t, she came to look after me and comforted me until my husband arrived. She sat and told us every tiny detail in William’s care with such love and kindness, it made us feel so incredibly privileged to have had her look after our little boy, as we had so little time with him.

Winner - Delivery Suite and Theatre Teams

A lady collapsed on the delivery suite and had to be transferred quickly to theatre for delivery. She was in theatre for several hours while the team tried to stop her bleeding. During this time she had 2 cardiac arrests, lost 8 litres of blood and required a hysterectomy. The team successfully resuscitated her and she was transferred to ITU at QEHB. Saving this woman's life was a massive team effort and everyone should be commended for the part they played however big or small.

Cystic Fibrosis Team

Not only have the CF team cared for me, but they have also cared for my parents and helped them to learn about my condition, manage it and over the years helped me accept my lifelong condition, manage it myself and not just live with it, but thrive with it. They have made me laugh and smile at times when I felt unwell or was worried and have shown me that my life does not need to be limited because of my condition.

Winter Ward (Ward 2) Team

In order to manage the significant increase in both numbers and acuity of patient admissions, Ward 2 was created using a planned but previously untried model of nursing. At no point in time did the teams that came together on Ward 2 display any signs that they were in a place of unfamiliarity. They showed total compassion to each other, so much so that there were numerous positive feedback comments from families about an excellent standard of care.

Winner - Anand Kanani

Anand is nominated for his exceptional guidance and mentorship. Anand's dedication to fostering growth and development has positively impacted many trainees, and his ambitious nature and ability to inspire others bring out the best in team members.

Eney Mhizha and the West Midlands CAMHS Provider Collaborative team

Eney Mhizha and the West Midlands CAMHS Provider Collaborative team recognised the issues of referrals for CAMHS Tier 4 beds making it difficult to accurately assess and allocate beds to children and young people in need.

 

Induction of Labour Working Group

Having introduced a single point of access to the service and a methodical screening process, they have significantly reduced unnecessary admissions, reduced waiting times for Tier 4 beds by at least half and down to zero at one point, which is incredible.

Winner - Aimee Landon

As head of our legal services team, Aimee supports colleagues through harrowing inquests, court of protection applications and other legal processes. Faced with so many competing deadlines and emotive cases, she handles everything with remarkable determination, compassion and expertise. Aimee goes above and beyond her role to help our staff, patients and families at some of their most vulnerable times. Her bravery and unwavering commitment to doing her job in difficult circumstances are an inspiration to others.

Chad Martin and Juliet Pocock, Heart Valve Bank

The Heart Valve Bank are a small team of two whose hard work has a profound effect on patients for the rest of their lives. Chad and Juliet are always busy behind the scenes, whether they’re dissecting donor hearts ready for heart patch grafts for babies, or preparing tissue or bone to give a child a new lease of life. In theatre, they carry out important procedures like egg retrievals for patients who are about to undergo intense treatment regimes.

Barrie O’Hare

Barrie received multiple nominations, each emphasising his caring and conscientious approach to work. Since joining the Estates team, he has led many major projects, including refurbishments in PICU and radiology, that have made a huge difference in the experiences of staff and visitors. Constantly on the go and always happy to help, Barrie is a true team player. His dedication to finding solutions and delivering the best possible results is appreciated throughout the Trust.