We’ve officially launched our BWC Spirit Awards 2024 – an event that’s always a huge highlight in our calendar as we recognise the work of our colleagues across our Trust. We want to make this year our biggest and best celebration.
Thank you to everyone who has placed a nomination for this year's awards.
Nominations across our 12 categories are now closed, but keep an eye out for the latest news on our finalists and event updates.
BWC Spirit Award 2024 Categories
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.
Best Boss
Winner - Paul Whittaker
Paul is a stalwart of the Communications Team and plays a crucial part – often behind the scenes and under intense pressure – in keeping the operation running as smoothly as possible. He is extremely hard-working, meeting very tight deadlines in a complex role while maintaining diligence and high quality in everything he does. His passionate leadership empowers the team. He is approachable and accommodating in helping colleagues have the best work-life balance possible. Despite the busy workload, morale is always high in the team, thanks to Paul.
Hashim Shah
Hashim has built a team within The Medicine Chest who work well together, are agile and can rotate tasks to ensure the needs of patients and colleagues are met. He has improved patient waiting times, as well as motivating and supporting the entire team. He truly cares; always asking if colleagues are okay and is thoroughly professional – building strong relationships across the hospital. The change Hashim has implemented in the department is immeasurable.
Phil Orton
Phil has been nominated by a member of his team after a significant upheaval in their life away from work. The nominee described the last 12 months as the most challenging period of their life and Phil as “a rock”, showing understanding, kindness and empathy, as well as ensuring that his colleague put themselves first and took time out to consider her wellbeing.
Charity Champion
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.
Commitment to Diversity
Winner - Eudmar Marcolino
Eudmar has demonstrated how dedicated and ambitious he is about the rights and inclusion for the LGBTQ+ community. He spearheaded the working group for the LGBTQ+ staff conference, bringing passion and drive to organise events in his own time. He also kept everyone else in check, offering support whenever it was needed it to ensure the conference was a success. It was clearly a cause close to his heart and shows how dedicated he is to inclusion for all LGBTQ+ people.
Hannah Wood
Midwife Hannah is passionate about creating an environment where individuals from all walks of life feel valued. She has been instrumental in leading the Postnatal Ward 3 Team to recognise and celebrate Diversity and Inclusion by way of creating visual displays on the ward. Recent events have included the King’s Coronation, Eid, Pride Month, The 75th Anniversary of the arrival of the Empire Windrush, the Euros, the Women’s Football World Cup and the Disability Pride Month.
Raj Jagpal
Throughout Raj's career he has consistently demonstrated a profound commitment to promoting diversity as was demonstrated in a recent project called 'Changing Places'. The parents of one of our patients at the Children’s Hospital realised that our disabled restrooms weren't adequate for those with life-long brain injuries like their son after he was diagnosed with encephalitis, an uncommon but dangerous condition that left him with a permanent brain injury. After receiving some funding from our Charity, Raj led the project to install a brand-new Changing Place inside Waterfall House.
Moment of Magic
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.
Most Inspiring Colleague
Winner - Bob Maxfield
Bob is amazing! He always champions for youth voice, co-production, youth engagement and so much more. He is always enthusiastic and trying to find Think4Brum and YPAG opportunities to make real change within BWC - for example, supporting new suicide prevention training, pride table talks, the big discussion, TeenTalk and so much more. Bob is always here for us and I have heard multiple young people say their trusted adult is Bob. He is a true hero.
Emily Magee
Emily is so inspiring and has recently organised 'Learning from Excellence de-briefs' focusing on the great practice on Irwin, encouraging staff to reflect on the things we have 'got right' and recognizing how strong we are as a team. She will always notice every small breakthrough that happens and she will let that person know the impact of their work, which raises moral on the ward. She is also great fun to work with and we are so lucky to have her!
Hena Syed-Sabir
Hena provides emotional containment, warmth and wisdom in the most difficult circumstances. I am in awe of her work, she inspires me to be a better, more thoughtful psychologist. Recently we worked together with a family where a child had lost his Mum in tragic circumstances and was himself badly injured. The child's father was struggling to find the words to tell his child about his mother's death. Hena guided him through this, an example of her ambition, bravery and compassion in action
Outstanding Clinical Team
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.
Outstanding Support Team
Winner - Whole Genome Sequencing Team
The Whole Genome Sequencing clinical team are a transformational service in a complex area of medicine. They have successfully managed and delivered a new service across the West Midlands region. Offering patients and families a powerful way to identify a genetic diagnosis for rare diseases, which involves designing and using a tracking tool to help ensure families are given an invaluable opportunity.
The reduction in waiting times has freed up time for clinics and made the working lives of clinicians so much easier.
Chloe Dixon and Wayne Roberts – Play Services, BCH
My daughter, Molly (15 years) suffered significant burns. Her treatment involved regular dressing changes which took hours. Chloe and Wayne supported Molly while the clinical team did their work. Without them, we don’t know how Molly would have got through her treatment.
Chloe and Wayne arrived early to prepare Molly mentally and distracted her by talking and using the VR through procedures. It was difficult seeing Molly in pain. They had all the right words and reassurances which helped me too.
Vital Services Facilities Domestic Team
Despite a tough year, domestic teams have shown outstanding commitment, resilience, and dedication to ensuring the hospital is clean and safe for colleagues, patients and visitors.
The teams have worked exceptionally to achieve accreditations including supporting Vital Services to accomplish new Cleaning Standards targets and competencies towards the Chartered Institute of Wastes Management and Infection Prevention and Control course.
All this was wrapped up in laughter, delivering training and open-mindedness to new ways of working. Thank you to everyone for their hard work.
Research, Innovation and Quality Improvement
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.
Rising Star
Winner - Daisy Eatwell
Daisy is always family-centred and has helped streamline the discharge planning process ensuring effective discharge of babies from NNU, ensuring the best outcomes for babies. She is always looking for ways to further streamline the discharge processes.
Daisy is a shining star; her passion is supporting families who have challenging or diverse needs which she does successfully. Daisy remains compassionate, despite being under immense pressure. She will always give time to others for the best outcomes for the team, babies and the service.
Bethany Odell
Bethany has provided excellent support for the women’s division. She has immersed herself into the role with a can-do approach and is honest about what is achievable.
Bethany led on the development of a PowerBI Maternity PTL, a one-stop report that enables Maternity to manage caseloads better. Bethany is passionate about colleagues having an effective workspace. She has been vital to the culture changes in local teams, actively listening, ensuring colleagues feel heard and involved which has improved knowledge sharing and reduced isolation.
Ela Ortega
Ela goes above and beyond every day, demonstrating our values through her exceptionally high standard of work. Ela is a model example of an Aspire Graduate. She is full of ideas to improve patient care, and support and develop colleagues in her team and across the organisation, thinking outside the box, with energy and enthusiasm.
Ela is one of the best multi-taskers I have ever seen. Ela is always willing to take on new challenges such as the By Your Side mentoring programme.
Mark Hough
Mark has successfully worked his way through the ranks from Security officer to Porter Team Leader for Vital Services. He has become a key player and achiever that sets challenges for himself and the team as a whole.
Unsung Hero
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.
Volunteer of the Year
Nahida Rahman
Nahida was an important member of YPAG for many years. In 2022, after her brother died at BCH having not received the care he deserved, she took on an active role in Think4Brum. Nahida has shown incredible bravery in sharing her brother’s story at many events to help ensure young people are heard and vital improvements are made. Ambitious and eager to inspire change in mental health services, she is now the chair of Think4Brum.
Jobanpreet Atwal
Joban is willing to support in any way she can and does so with a smile. Never one to shy away from a challenge, she responded to a request for support from our Emergency Department during winter pressures and played an important role in offering drinks to families and activity packs to children to help them through long waits. Joban later moved onto a ward-based role where her positive attitude continues to make a real difference.
Rita Woods
Calm, friendly and compassionate, Rita provided invaluable support throughout the pandemic and beyond. At the height of Covid restrictions, she screened visitors across different entrances at the hospital, ensuring staff could focus on clinical duties. Rita’s kindness and professionalism continues to shine through. Since returning to Ward 8, she has encouraged play with children of all ages, proofread patient leaflets and introduced a tea trolley for parents. The team wouldn’t be the same without her.
Lifetime Achievement
Thank you to the following companies for kindly supporting this year's BWC Spirit Awards.
As lead sponsor, Birmingham Women’s and Children’s Hospital Charity is honoured, once again, to play a key role in recognising the truly outstanding achievements of all our incredible colleagues around our Trust.