Shortlist for first Cambridge University Hospitals annual awards revealed after 1,200 nominations

The shortlist has been revealed for the first annual awards at Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (CUH), following an astonishing 1,200 nominations.

Finalists from the trust, which runs the Addenbrooke's and Rosie hospitals in Cambridge, have been chosen across nine categories by judges.

The shortlist is being unveiled one week before the Cambridge Independent announces the finalists in the single award that was open to the public to recognise hospital staff - The Public Choice Award - which we were proud to organise in association with CUH.

All of those shortlisted in the awards, supported by Addenbrooke’s Charitable Trust, will go forward to a special awards ceremony in September, where the winners will be revealed.

More than 11,500 people are employed by CUH, which introduced the event, alongside its You Made a Difference awards programme to recognise and showcase some of its best work.

Celebrations were held in July to recognise all those nominated for the special contribution they make at CUH.

Director of workforce David Wherrett said: “This is a celebration of the whole CUH family, showcased through the nominations and winners of each category.

“It is humbling to read how individuals and teams are going the extra mile, in truly exceptional circumstances, to look after patients, and each other.”

The Cambridge Independent asked readers to put forward individuals and teams for the Public Choice Award, and was inundated with entries.

Editor Paul Brackley said: “The response from readers to the Public Choice category has been quite incredible. We want to thank everyone who has supported it, and helped highlight the truly exceptional work of our local hospitals. It has made our job as judges extremely hard.”

Look out for the shortlist in that category, and the incredible stories behind their nominations, next week.

Cambridge University Hospitals 2022 awards: The nominees

All of us – Outstanding contribution to inclusion award

• Alex Montgomery – Alex has made a huge impact on improving the work experience for colleagues who are LGBT+, or have a disability, or are managing a mental health condition. He has also contributed to improving services for patients from LGBT+ communities, helping co-produce the trust’s trans care policy and transitioning at work guide for managers.

• Erica Chisanga - Erica has been chair of the black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) staff network since its launch in 2017 and single-handedly led the network until late 2020. She was also a key player in the production of the trust's workforce race equality standard (WRES) action plan.

• Cultural Ambassadors: Ruby Lopez, Emil Brown and Daison Zinyemba – Ruby, Emil and Daison are active cultural ambassadors working hard to promote race equality and inclusion at CUH. Ruby has become an active informal mentor to support black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) staff and has passionately contributed to the trust's workforce race equality standard (WRES) action plan.Emil provides wise thoughtful counsel to colleagues including our CEO and director of workforce, to influence our inclusion and antiracism strategy. Daison has been key in supporting investigatory team processes. He has given guidance, wise mentorship and support to many BAME colleagues, with career progression and providing emotional support when issues of racism have been raised.

Collaboration - The partnership and coalition working award

• Covid Medicines Delivery Unit (CMDU) - The CMDU virtual multidisciplinary team worked tirelessly and consistently together to set up and deliver a new service that ensured treatments were safely prescribed, appropriate to complex clinical needs and evidenced by robust clinical protocols.
• Covid Modelling Group – This team supported CUH's Covid response – providing invaluable information on the number of Covid patients we would need to care for at different times. Doctors from infectious diseases and virology produced a demand model and worked with colleagues from corporate operations, strategy and finance to consider the strategic and operational insights emerging from this, such as the number of red beds, PPE and staff required at different times.
• Maternity and Neonatal Voices Partnership - Since becoming a partnership in September 2020, the team has worked closely with neonatal unit staff to ensure families are involved in service improvement.
• The Cambridge Infusion Project Delivery Team – Teams from division C and the capital planning and development team worked closely together throughout the design and construction of the Cambridge Infusion Centre, which opened in March 2021.

Discovery – the innovation and advancement in health award

• Louise Allen and Paediatric Ophthalmology - Louise and the paediatric ophthalmology team have developed a validated app for home assessment of vision. DigiVis is a web-app which enables self-testing of distance visual acuity at home. This innovation will have a massive impact on patient care, reducing the need for onsite testing and resource, so freeing up capacity in orthoptic clinics. It provides a safe, validated and easy way of reviewing a patient's vision remotely.

• NIHR Research Team - The whole team at the NIHR Cambridge Clinical Research Facility (CRF) has shown dedication, expertise and an ability to turn their hand to everything that has been asked of them. The team established and led teams across the campus to deliver complex Covid-19 research trials in record time. They continued treating patients recruited to over 80 never stop trials; patients have continued to receive potentially life-saving experimental drugs throughout Covid, including those with advanced cancer diagnoses.

• Professor Vincent Gnanapragasam - Professor Gnanapragasam has dedicated his clinical career to prostate cancer, in particular early detection and active surveillance. He invented the CAMPROBE, a transperineal biopsy device which can be performed in the outpatient setting under local anaesthetic. He helped create the PREDICT model for prostate cancer, endorsed by NICE and used nationwide, giving men the opportunity to see the potential outcomes of treatment versus conservative management of their prostate cancer over a 10 and 15-year period.

• Andrea Lake - Andrea has always been passionate about research and how this is applied clinically for patient benefit. She is the first nurse in the region to be awarded the first NIHR clinical doctoral fellow PhD funding. Andrea is spending her research time devoted to understanding how diabetes specialist care is delivered within the hospital by proactively reviewing patients with diabetes from admission, rather than waiting for a referral from the ward.

Inspire – the leadership award

• Amy Baker - Amy's character, together with her leadership skills, brings out what's best in people. Amy manages her team in a meaningful, respectful, honest and compassionate way, and she listens.
• Dr Ronan O'Leary - Dr O'Leary has shown outstanding leadership for the NCCU over the last two years, and has been one of the main reasons that the unit has delivered excellent clinical care during the immense challenge posed by Covid-19. His proactive management ensured that the service stayed ahead of the curve, and delivered nationally leading clinical outcomes both in our core business of trauma and neuroscience, and in our surge care of patients with Covid-19.
• Gareth Hayman - Gareth has diligently led his theatre team through undoubtedly the greatest challenge faced by our theatres, and indeed the NHS since its inception. Gareth is a non-assuming and humble manager, always there for support and proactive in his response. He has led a huge team of now battle-hardened nurses through the worst of what Covid. He has helped make his team resilient, adaptive, and creative in their thinking.
• Sara Levy - Sara started her professional lead role for occupational therapy (OT) at one of the most challenging times. Sara is a naturally compassionate, transformative leader, and her authenticity makes her an exceptional role model. Sara has drive, passion, enthusiasm, trust and a warm, energetic approach. These skills, combined with offers of support with encouragement and humility, are truly unique.

Keep us safe - The outstanding contribution to patient and or staff safety award

• The operations centre team - The operations centre is critical to the safe running of the organisation. They ensure appropriate and safe patient placement within clinically driven timescales, across numerous specialties and in consultation with clinical and operational teams across all divisions.
• Stephanie Fuller - Stephanie has worked tirelessly to engage and support staff to recognise and respond to patients at risk of deterioration or developing sepsis. Her work has taken her across the Trust, bringing everybody together to create real improvement in our ability to care for this patient cohort.
• Dr Janet Pickett - Dr Pickett has led the high risk obstetric anaesthesia service for many years. She works hard, giving meticulous attention to detail and patient safety, treating each patient as an individual. Despite the huge challenges that are posed by the complex medical conditions the patients present with, Jane's attention to safety and detail means she achieves consistently good outcomes.

• Infection control team – The infection control team emulates trust standards by putting patients at the heart of everything they do. In doing so, they ensure the safety of staff and others working or visiting our hospitals.

There for me – Award for the compassionate colleague

• Debbie Brown - Debbie enabled me to see my potential, to believe in myself and my abilities and continually grow. Debbie has been Instrumental in driving change for unregistered staff through pilot initiatives such as pre-nursing schemes, band 3s, grow your own and nursing apprenticeships.
• Emma Woolman - Emma has demonstrated genuine compassion. When a member of staff was diagnosed with a terminal illness Emma reached out to the family to provide support far beyond the organisation's mandates, doing everything possible to relieve the family of some of the suffering and pain they were experiencing with the traumatic diagnosis.
• Gail Holloway - Gail is the epitome of a compassionate, hardworking, supportive, upbringing and motivating colleague. Gail has always been there to offer support and a shoulder to cry on if needed. She has been the clinic’s rock for everyone. Her infectious laugh, charisma and cheerfulness echoes through the clinic.
• Victoria Parfect - Victoria personifies the word "compassion". She is always thinking of others before herself and always knows exactly what to say and do to help in any given situation. Victoria has been a constant source of support, understanding and encouragement.

Stronger Together – Team of the year award

• Acute Oncology and Cancer Assessment Unit - The Cancer Assessment Unit (CAU) which houses the acute oncology team work collaboratively to provide an emergency 24/7 service to patients receiving oncology treatments. Over the last year the CAU team have adapted and supported flow from the ED and the increased number of patients needing their service like never before. 70 per cent of patients who attend CAU receive care and can go home the same day, preventing admission to hospital.
• Cambridge Dialysis Centre (CDC) - CDC treats extremely clinically vulnerable patients and the team has had to flex with changing demands on the service where patients cannot avoid treatment even if Covid positive. Staff have worked extra shifts, split shifts, changed their days and extended shifts. They have been incredibly supportive, flexible, kind, inventive and proactive.
• Division A - Operational Management Team – This team manages complex services including critical care, theatres, endoscopy and surgical specialties. The team demonstrates commitment, drive and passion and genuinely always put patient care first, and foremost.
• Communications and Engagement team - This team has played a vital role in supporting effective communications and engagement with staff, patients and the public. The team displays a positive, can-do attitude and seeks to push the boundaries of innovation and fresh thinking.

Helping us to grow – Excellence in education and development award

• Gayle Brunskill – Gayle is part of the critical care practice development team. Gayle mentors students through placements on critical care as well as new staff, giving them the tools to flourish into the now competent critical care nurses they are today.
• Lisa Enoch - Lisa has shown outstanding leadership in education throughout the pandemic and an unyielding commitment to staff development. She has managed to increase the number of practice development nurses in the division and develop them in a compassionate environment promoting emotional and professional safety in order to grow and reach their potential.
• Jade Darler - Jade is passionate about supporting the development of pharmacy trainees and embodies the Trust values in all of her interactions. She is compassionate, responds to suggestions positively and is focused to continually improve the quality of training that is provided.

• Karen Runham - Karen has worked tirelessly for many years in supporting the training and development of all grades of staff through many different levels of qualifications. Her drive to help all staff reach their potential and encouragement shines through. Without Karen's contributions over the years many of the staff who now work in pathology wouldn't be as skilled or as knowledgeable.

Improving Together - Striving to be even better award

• Acute Medicine - Even before the pandemic, acute medicine has worked tirelessly to improve patient pathways, safety and experience. They have formed two new assessment areas (N2, EAU4) and strengthened ambulatory care service (Clinic 5). The impact of this has been to move a sizeable proportion of medical patients outside the ED and protecting space for patients requiring resuscitation facilities.
• L2 – Day Surgery Unit - This team has continuously made changes and adaptions to their working pattern to improve the patient pathway and journey. One particular highlight has been the addition of robotic prostatectomies, a procedure which typically had one to two-night monitored stay on an inpatient ward, where L2 DSU played a pivotal role in the recovery of elective services and has set the foundation for how future surgical pathways can be implemented.

• GI suspected cancer two-week wait team - This team was formed to address issues relating to the two-week cancer pathway targets and the 28-day faster diagnosis standard (FDS). This involved a review of the whole pathway, taking in the views of GPs, our staff and the patients, and developing a transformative action-plan, delivering immediate results.
• Phlebotomy – Outpatients - The drive through phlebotomy service has been one of the big successes to come out of the pandemic and has been a full team effort. The service has constantly evolved from its original concept, by listening to both patient and staff feedback. Many changes have been implemented, benefitting our patients and staff, whilst always ensuring that safety was at the forefront of all that has been done.

Addenbrooke’s Charitable Trust - Fundraiser of the year

• Atanu Pal - A colleague who really wants to make a difference in the hospital. Atanu is a surgeon and - encouraged by ACT’s surgical robot appeal, supported by the Cambridge Independent - ran a marathon around the streets of Cambridge tracking the word ‘robot’ as he went.
• Annie West - Annie has a long history of supporting fundraising for the Rosie, frequently speaking to patients and partners about ACT and what donations have been spent on, helping to advise people about how to make a donation. For several years Annie has played a key role in the hospital’s annual Rosie Rudolph Run.
• Transplant Team - The transplant team has been very engaged with ACT, working collaboratively on fundraising and in particular raising awareness of charitable giving and its impact through communication to patients and their families and referring interested patients and families over to ACT to discuss fundraising or making a donation.
• George Follows - George worked alongside ACT to facilitate communication with his patients and to generate interest in a research project. This resulted in 70 new donor prospects and gifts totalling £120,000.