Staff from Fermanagh working in the Western Health and Social Care Trust have been honoured recently for the huge contribution they make to health and care services in the West.

More than 200 staff and guests, including award winners, colleagues and management from across the Western Trust joined together at a special ceremony held at the Silverbirch Hotel, Omagh on Tuesday, April 4.

Awards were made in nine categories celebrating care, innovation, leadership and excellent services being delivered each day by dedicated individuals and teams.

Welcoming everyone to the Trust’s Staff Recognition Awards ceremony Western Trust Chair Sam Pollock said: “I am delighted to welcome guests to this wonderful celebration event today and look forward to hearing the many incredible innovative and inspirational nominations from individual staff and teams across the Western Trust who go above and beyond for patient/client care every day. Thank you for everything you do and congratulations on your outstanding achievement. Well done.”

The Awards were compered by BBC Weatherman Barra Best. Department of Health Permanent Secretary, Peter May; Western Trust Chair, Sam Pollock, Chief Executive, Neil Guckian and Director of Human Resources and Organisational Development, Karen Hargan, presented the awards and certificates to the winners and those highly commended.

Trust Chief Executive, Neil Guckian spoke about his gratitude and pride in being a part of such an incredible Trust family. “It is humbling to be amongst Trust colleagues who continued to evolve and improve our services and provide compassionate and quality care during such an unprecedented time for healthcare.

“Whilst it’s great to recognise successes or significant achievements at our awards ceremony, I also think about the contributions our staff make on a daily basis. They’ve each delivered or supported care, faced new challenges and found alternative ways to overcome them. All this, whilst showing a continued commitment, loyalty and dedication to delivering the best services possible.”

A new award was introduced this year to reflect patient feedback. The Patient/Service User Experience Award acknowledged Care Opinion comments and Complements received in 2022. The worthy winners for this category were the Altnagelvin and South West Acute Hospital’s Emergency Department Teams, the Acute Care at Home Team, Derry and the Hospital at Home Team, Enniskillen.

Individuals and teams were nominated by their colleagues across the nine award categories, alongside the coveted Chair’s award. Categories included; Championing Our Health Award, Frontline Champion, Improvement and Involvement, Leading the Way, Rising Star, Working Together Team Award and Supporting Our Services Champion Award. The long-term commitment and dedication of our staff was also recognised in the Lifetime Achievement awards.

This year recipients of Special Awards from across the Western Trust for were also invited to be recognised for their commitment to nursing, midwifery and social work including the Hilary Curry Cup for Cancer Services; Anona Clake Award for Midwifery; Joan Ross Award for Outstanding Social Work Practice; Nuala McLaughlin Award (Social Work) and the Patient/Service User Outcome and Experience Award.