Sovereign Health Care is a proud supporter of the NHS – over the last 12 years alone, we’ve donated over £1.7 million to NHS Trusts in Yorkshire. We’re delighted to be supporting the Leeds Hospitals NHS Trust’s Time To Shine Awards 2019 which are designed to recognise and show appreciation to the NHS staff at Leeds Teaching Hospitals who work tirelessly day in day out to help those in need.
Here, we hear from Rachel Warburton, communications manager at Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, about what the awards mean for both NHS staff and services.
How did the concept for the Time To Shine awards come about?
Rachel Warburton (RW): Time To Shine is about recognising the fantastic work our teams do every day to improve our services and care for our patients. Celebrating success and supporting our staff is very important to us. This is our fourth Time To Shine awards, with the first being in 2015, and it gets bigger every year!
What sort of achievements are recognised at the awards?
RW: Time To Shine shares best practice that can be spread across the organisation – whether that’s about improving the quality of our services, engaging with and empowering staff, or improving patient experience. But at its heart, Time To Shine is about recognising all of the extra things that make a real difference for our patients and their families, and how colleagues across our hospitals support and cheer each other on.
How many nominations did you receive this year?
RW: This year we had a total of 583 nominations. This is a mix of nominations from staff, our patients and their families.
Can you give us any insights into this year’s ceremony?
RW: On 26 July, we will be welcoming 520 guests from across the Trust, and some of our partner organisations who work with us to provide great care. Our Medical Illustration team have worked so hard with this year’s nominees to make some fantastic videos showcasing just why we are where we are, which I think will go down really well.
We’ve got the usual things people have come to expect from Time To Shine: great food and drink, glitter balls and the opportunity to have some fun – plus a few surprises!
Who features on the judging panel for the awards?
RW: We have representatives from each of our clinical service areas and corporate services, including pharmacists, doctors, nurses, physiotherapists, estates, admin support and managers. We also have a patient representative for each of our categories.
Why do you think it’s so important to celebrate the NHS workers who are making a difference every day?
RW: Our teams across the hospital work tirelessly to provide the best possible care for patients, often facing some significant challenges to do so. It’s not often that they can take time out to really reflect on this and acknowledge how great what they do really is!
Time To Shine is our Trust Board’s way of saying thank you, recognising the commitment staff put in every single day, and to really celebrate the difference they make.
How important is it for organisations, such as Sovereign, to support the initiative?
RW: We couldn’t run the Time To Shine awards without supporters like Sovereign Health Care. No public or NHS money is used to fund Time To Shine as it’s all generously sponsored and that’s really important. It also makes staff feel like our suppliers and the local community support them and are grateful for everything they do.
For you, what is the most important aspect of the Time to Shine awards?
RW: Time To Shine has become the highlight of the year and we love hearing everyone talk about how much it gives them a boost and how much they enjoy it. It has grown year on year which shows just how much it means to everyone and how they have embraced the culture of recognising our successes.
It’s a fantastic opportunity to share the brilliant work that goes on, but also to bring teams together to celebrate and recognise how everyone, no matter their job role, is absolutely crucial to keeping our hospitals running every single day.
To find out more about the Time To Shine Awards 2019, visit leedsth.nhs.uk/time-to-shine-awards-2/
To find out more about Sovereign Health Care and its Community Programme, visit sovereignhealthcare.co.uk/about/community-programme.