Colleagues gather to celebrate the best of BWC
NHS staff have been moved to tears after being nominated for ‘moments of magic’ by grateful families from across the Midlands.
Birmingham Women’s and Children’s NHS Foundation Trust’s (BWC) annual staff awards, the BWC Spirit Awards 2022, was held in the Library of Birmingham, representing the first in-person awards ceremony since 2019. The Trust celebrated award winners from 16 categories, including Lifetime Achievement, Unsung Hero and the Moment of Magic, a category nominated by patients and families.
The Moment of Magic award winner Dr Fidan Israfil-Bayli said: “The two speeches from the patients were especially precious for me, I even started crying, it was very touching. I know I’m just happy to save someone’s baby, somebody’s pregnancy, I think it’s amazing. I’m very happy that I can give that joy, that moment of magic, to patients.”
Dr Israfil-Bayli won her award for staying on beyond her shift to perform complex suture operations on two women at risk of having a premature birth.
She added: “I’m very appreciative, I don’t think it’s just my work because I work as a part of a team, it’s the whole of the pre-term birthing team, technically I’m doing the surgery, but it’s a big team who looks after those women with the risk of pre-term birth, so they are the consultants, the midwives, doctors and nurses who look after them. So, it’s not just my award, but the award of the whole pre-birth prevention team.”
Four categories were also presented virtually through the week so more people could take part in the celebration.
Chief Executive, Sarah-Jane Marsh CBE, said: “What a special week it was, culminating in the most fantastic awards ceremony – the first time for more than three years we were able to truly celebrate and be inspired by the very best of BWC.
“Our Spirit Awards are just so humbling. Hearing about the countless examples of colleagues going above and beyond for our patients and families makes us all immensely proud.
“A huge ‘congratulations’ once again to every single one of our nominees, and in particular our finalists and winners. And, of course, an even bigger ‘thank you’ for everything you do day in day out to make a difference.”
The attendees were even treated to some celebrity entertainment as Britain’s Got Talent star, Eva Abley, herself a patient at the Children’s Hospital, got the crowd laughing going into the interval.
BWC received over 550 nominations to the awards this year, making it a record-breaking year for the number of nominations.
Zoe Birch won the Charity Champion award after raising over £12,500 for the Children’s Hospital charity in memory of her daughter.
She said: “It’s unreal, I’m completely shocked and surprised and I wasn’t expecting it. I wasn’t expecting to be nominated, let alone win, so it’s a bit of a shock, but I’m very proud.
“My daughter was a patient of Birmingham Children’s since she was one-years-old and the metabolic condition that she had was looked after by the Children’s, and she passed away three years ago, she was 17 when she died, and she was always such a kind, caring person and I just wanted to keep her legacy and her memory alive and do plenty of charity work to try and raise some money for the hospital and the departments who looked after her.”
Chairman, Prof. Sir Bruce Keogh added: “I think these awards have been really inspirational. It’s very easy to work in your own bubble and not realise the fantastic things going on in other parts of the organisation.
“It’s so wonderful to be able to say thank you to people for the fantastic job that they do that often goes unrecognised or under the radar. People in our organisation are not seeking accolades or recognition, they just want to do a good job, but it’s really important for all of us to have the opportunity to say thank you to our friends and colleagues.”
A special thank you to our Women’s Hospital and Children’s Hospital charities supporting the event and making it possible.
To give people a taste of the night, we have put together a playlist of videos from the night.