Outstanding nursing and midwifery staff honoured at annual awards

Exceptional staff from across Guy’s and St Thomas’ were recognised at the Trust’s annual Nursing and Midwifery Week awards.

The event, held on International Midwives Day on Friday 5 May, kicked off a week-long celebration of nursing and midwifery staff.

Chief Nurse Avey Bhatia hosted the awards ceremony which was held at St Thomas’ Hospital and included pre-recorded thank you messages from Jo Brand and Joe Wicks.

One team and 24 individual winners were recognised during the event, which is now in its seventh year.

Guest presenters included Jess Read, Deputy Chief Midwifery Officer for England, and Angela Helleur, Chief Nurse of south east London Integrated Care Board.

Sophie Francis, clinical nurse specialist in the lung cancer team, was named Cancer and Surgery Nurse of the year. She created a patient support group for non-smoking related lung cancers, Take a Breather, which has now been rolled out nationally, bringing wider attention to this group of patients who often have different care and support needs.

Evelina London nurse of the year went to Emma Baker, a staff nurse who has created several innovative initiatives to support patients. Her compassion and strength in providing the best possible care for a family and their dying child was highlighted as one example of her incredible work.

Laura Nina Barker, senior research nurse at Harefield Hospital, was named Research nurse or midwife of the year. She was commended for being an outstanding, supportive mentor.

Midwife of the year was awarded to Gillian Donaldson who has a dual role as deputy screening coordinator and fetal medicine midwives team leader. She works hard to ensure that women and their families receive the correct care and referral pathway in a timely manner, providing individualised care.

Team of the year was given to the lung cancer clinical nurse specialist team. The team work across multiple specialities and services across Trusts to support seamless care for lung cancer patients. They have set up regular meetings to help the team identify patients who need extra support.

Musa Olaiwon, a nurse practitioner in the health inclusion team, was named Community nurse of the year. He works with asylum seekers who are living in hotels and was described as instrumental in ensuring this group have access to vaccinations. 

Roisin Fitzsimmons, head of nursing, was awarded the senior leadership award. She led the nursing and midwifery strategy and successfully gained funding to set up the Kofoworola Abeni Pratt Fellowship to enable development opportunities.

The Rising star award was presented to Abigail Troughton, a clinical nurse specialist. She advocates for her patients and is dedicated to ensuring health equality, particularly the uptake of cervical screening and colposcopy for patients from the LGBTQ+ community.

Avey Bhatia, Chief Nurse at Guy’s and St Thomas’, said: “Each and every one of our amazing nursing and midwifery staff are a huge asset to the Trust. Our annual awards ceremony is a brilliant opportunity to come together and show how much we value their work by celebrating their achievements.”

A massive congratulations to all of the award winners:

Category – Winner

Community nurse of the year – Musa Olaiwon, nurse practitioner

Sister, midwife or charge nurse of the year - Tiago Albuquerque, charge nurse
 
Evelina London midwife of the year - Anna Gaudion, midwife
 
Nurse or midwife of the year - Gillian Donaldson, midwife
 
Consultant nurse or midwife of the year - Catherine Oakley, nurse consultant
 
Research nurse or midwife of the year - Laura Nina Barker, senior research nurse
 
Cancer and Surgery Nurse of the year - Sophie Francis, clinical nurse specialist
 
Evelina London children’s nurse of the year - Emma Baker, staff nurse
 
Integrated and Specialist Medicine nurse of the year - Dominque Woods, clinical nurse specialist
 
Heart, Lung and Critical Care nurse of the year - Ana Alves, advanced nurse practitioner
 
Dental nurse of the year - Krishna Baidya, dental nurse
 
Nursing assistant / community rehabilitation or community support worker of the year - Alice Mashesheshe, senior nursing assistant
 
Student nurse, midwife or nursing associate trainee / dental nurse apprenticeship of the year - Rhiannon Smith, student nurse
 
Maternity support worker of the year - Veronica Williams, maternity support worker
 
Nursing associate of the year - Lauren Humphrey, registered nursing associate
 
Practice development nurse or midwife / clinical educator of the year - Sarah Fleet, clinical educator and Emma Whitcombe, regional implementation lead
 
Specialist nurse of the year (advanced nurse practitioner / specialist community public health nurse) - Annette Downe, clinical nurse specialist
 
Research Engagement Award - Priscilla Bekoe
 
Team of the year - Lung cancer clinical nurse specialist team
 
Matron of the year - Bernadette Gibbings, midwife
 
The Nightingale Fellowship award of the year - Rajjanie Singh, senior staff nurse
 
Senior Leadership Award - Roisin Fitzsimmons, Head of Nursing
 
Rising Star - Abigail Troughton, clinical nurse specialist
 
Patients’ Choice Award - Sarah Ward nurse team
 
Chief Nurse Award - Emma Gadsby, Head of Site Operations