Founders fly from USA to surprise DAISY award winners
It was an extra special surprise for midwives Hannah Lee and Jessica James-Hill when they were both presented with DAISY Awards by the founders of the international accolade.
Bonnie and Mark Barnes paid a VIP visit to our Children’s Hospital to make the presentation which recognises nurses and midwives for their dedication and compassion to their patients and for the positive impact they have on their colleagues.
The founders, from the USA, attended a Nursing Midwifery and AHP Excellence Conference organised by Chief Nursing and Midwifery Officer Daljit Athwal to recognise and celebrate the great work of our staff.
Midwives Hannah Lee and Jessica James-Hill, who both work within the Homebirth Team at our Women’s Hospital, attended the conference and were surprised with the DAISY accolade by Bonnie and Mark in the heartwarming moment.
Bonnie said: “I am so happy to be at Birmingham Children’s Hospital to celebrate all the nurses and midwives.
“Twenty-six years ago, my family experienced extraordinary care when nurses looked after my stepson Patrick. We were so touched by that care that we had to say thank you.”
She told the audience at the conference: “You all are part of a global community, not only of extraordinary, compassionate nurses, but also of leaders who recognise the true value of the work you do every day.
“When we met Daljit a couple of years ago, we made a commitment we would come here and I’m so happy to be here to fulfil our promise and to thank you for the commitment to your work and the team.”
Daljit said: “It has been a true honour to welcome Bonnie and Mark to our Trust. I am immensely passionate about the DAISY initiative as it showcases our nurses and midwives in such an emotive way. The nominations we receive reflect the compassion and high standard of care our staff deliver and presenting the awards is one of the highlights of my job.”
The DAISY (Diseases Attacking the Immune SYstem) scheme is run across the globe with 8,000 healthcare facilities implementing the initiative across 46 countries.
It was created in memory of Patrick Barnes who died from an auto immune disease. His family wanted to establish a recognition programme to honour nurses following excellent care he’d received. The scheme was established and has since been expanded to include midwives and nursing associates.
Nominations can be from staff, patients and their families and the scheme is funded by our Charity.
The latest DAISY recipients were both nominated by mums they’d cared for throughout their pregnancy.
Hannah’s nominator wrote: “She gave me exemplary care antenatally in my own home with such kindness and humour. She restored confidence in my abilities to achieve a positive birth following a traumatic experience with my first baby.
“She was calm and reassuring throughout the pregnancy which was so important as I had previously experienced five miscarriages.
“She transformed my experience of pregnancy and was so kind to my toddler as home visits too, even letting him listen to the heartbeat.”
Whilst the nomination for Jessica read: “During my whole pregnancy she was fantastic, her home visits were supportive, educational, compassionate, and organised.
“During one of the routine visits she had come early in the morning and had mentioned she was on call that evening if I needed her as I was close to my due date. As fate would have it I begun having contractions that night.”
Jessica went onto ensure that the new mum was checked over and alerted triage that she would possibly be attending to give birth soon.
“It is clear she works hard for her patients and her team, has a brilliant professional attitude and fantastic instinct,” added the nominator.