Outstanding achievements, dedication and quality care were celebrated at this year's James Paget University Hospital's Remarkable People awards.
Some 200 guests attended a glittering awards ceremony, held at the Wherry Hotel, Oulton Broad, on Friday night (October 5).
This year saw more than 300 nominations from both patients and staff for the awards.
And for the first time the awards were live streamed by this newspaper, where more than 10,000 people tuned in to watch friends, family, and colleagues pick up their prizes.
The winners in each category were:
• Ward of the Year: Ward 16
• Team of the Year - Clinical: Community Midwifery Team
• Team of the Year - Non-Clinical: Discharge Hub
• Employee of the Year: Jade Rawlinson, nursery nurse
• Non-Clinical Individual of the Year: Susan Hood, health records manager
• Clinical Individual of the Year: Dorothy Wheatman, lead radiographer
• Inspiration Award: Dr Jim Crawfurd, emergency department consultant
• Volunteer of the Year: Dementia Befrienders
• Apprentice of the Year: Lucy Chapman
• Governors' Award for Outstanding Service: Glenda Turner, senior sister, A&E
• EDP Gold 'Patients' Choice' Award: Mickey Cox, cardiac nurse specialist
• Chair and Chief Executive's Commendations: Andrew Barratt, audiologist; and Steve Savage, domestic assistant
The Community Midwifery Team were praised for their outstanding commitment to their patients. This included getting out to appointments across the area during the heavy snowfall caused by the Beast from the East thanks to the support of local 4x4 drivers.
Community midwifery manager Joanna Keable said she was delighted that her team had been recognised at this year's awards.
'They are all stars,' said Ms Keable. 'It is brilliant to lead such a hard-working, dedicated team which always puts mums and mums-to-be first, come rain or shine – or snow and ice. I am so pleased for them.'
Non-clinical Team of the Year went to the Discharge Hub, which is a multi-agency team focusing on helping medically-fit patients leave hospital as soon as possible.
Team leader Ola Finch said: 'I'm both surprised and thrilled that we have won. It's only a year since we began our work so to receive this award demonstrates that we are having a positive impact – and that we are helping reduce delays so that patients can get home more quickly.'
Colleagues described Dr Jim Crawfurd, winner of the inaugural Inspiration Award, as a 'true leader', 'positive and supportive' and 'one of the most committed, hard-working, caring, compassionate and patient-focussed doctors I have had the honour to work with'.
'I am overwhelmed,' said Dr Crawford. 'I feel privileged to work with some exceptional colleagues in the department. It has been an extremely busy year for us. But the strength of teamwork and the support we give each other means we have been able to remain focused on delivering care for our patients, despite the pressures – and I am very proud of that.'
All the awards were presented by chief executive Christine Allen and trust chairman Anna Davidson, with the exception of the EDP Patients' Choice Award which was presented by EDP health correspondent Geraldine Scott, and the Governors' Award which was presented by lead governor Jane Harvey.
Mrs Allen said: 'Once again, the Remarkable People Awards has given us the perfect opportunity to celebrate our fantastic staff, who time-and-again show their commitment to providing quality care for our patients.
'The hard work and achievements of all our finalists demonstrate why the James Paget is a great place to work - and I would like to congratulate them all.'
Mrs Davidson added: 'The Remarkable People Awards really showcase the breadth of talent we have in the trust – and all of our finalists should be extremely proud of their achievements.'
The ceremony included a three course meal for guests and a disco.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here