Associate Locality Manager David Pugh scooped his third accolade in 2023 at the Sirona Awards for Excellence.
David received Sirona’s first Lifetime Achievement Award for his work in raising the profile of community nursing. Earlier this year he was awarded the Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother Award for Outstanding Service and was named as one of 75 clinicians across the UK who have made a significant impact on their area of practice during the lifetime of the NHS.
David, who was on holiday in Cornwall, was surprised by the organising team who arranged for the trophy to be presented by his husband DJ while David was a virtual attendee at the award ceremony.
He said: “I thought I was being invited to join others who had received a national award this year and then to receive this Lifetime Achievement Award was just incredible. I have fantastic colleagues at Sirona but I’ve also been lucky to work with super people at my previous organisations too. This was a lovely surprise.”
Sue Porto, Chief Executive, of the NHS and Local Authority funded social enterprise which provides community adult and children’s services across Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire, said: “David is held in high regard locally, regionally and nationally and we also wanted to recognise his incredible achievements. He is caring and empathetic and always puts the needs of others before his own. He is a deserving winner.”
Sue hosted the night which was held at Ashton Gate Stadium in Bristol. It was the organisation’s 12th annual ceremony to celebrate the achievements of staff who had gone above and beyond in their care of people and families.
Sirona’s Chair Amanda Cheesley said: “It was a night of laughter and tears but what stood out was the amazing work which takes place every day of the year as we celebrated the opportunities, the innovation, and the passion of our teams for making things better for people.”
One of the highlights was the award where nominations are made by people who use Sirona’s services. This year saw two winners – Health Visitor Nell Young and the Integrated Community Stroke Service. Both were praised by people for their tailored approach to care.
Consultant Paediatrician Jo Brooks received the Equality and Diversity award for her work empowering communities to improve access to healthcare and the Learning Disability and Autism Liaison Service for the improvements in quality of care to support those people with Learning Disabilities receiving health care
Sue said: “Improving outcomes for all is really important to us and it was lovely to see the work taking place to help us achieve this. I’m passionate that we do all we can to ensure people can access support when they need it and while we know there’s more to do, the work we celebrated is definitely making a positive impact.
“I am hugely proud of all the achievements of colleagues across our communities for the people of Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire. It demonstrated how community services wrap around people’s lives and those of their families and by working with a huge range of partners we are able to support people to live and age well.”
The event was sponsored by Great Western Credit Union, Retinue, Sirona Foundation, Ralph Allen Press and Sounds Commercial.
Over 400 nominations were received for the annual awards with this year’s Colleague of the Year categories based around Sirona’s strategy which focuses on Our People, Our Communities, Our Services, Our Partners and Our Sustainability.
Winners
Our People – Colleague of the Year: Jen Cave-Ayland, Wellbeing Lead South Bristol
Our Communities – Colleague of the Year: Gayle Robins, Management Accountant
Our Services – Colleague of the Year: Kiszy Locke, Clinical Lead Diabetes, BNSSG Diabetes and Nutrition Service.
Award for Contribution to Equality and Diversity: Dr Jo Brooks, Consultant Community Paediatrician
Our Partners – Colleague of the Year: Jo Howard, Wellbeing Lead Woodspring.
Our Sustainability – Colleague of the Year: Maria Schlaefli, Assistant Practitioner South Bristol Community Hospital.
Dusty Walker Award for Quality Improvement: Learning Disability and Autism Liaison Team who work with people with Learning Disabilities across our local hospitals in BNSSG
Newcomer of the Year: Nick Cutcliffe, Clinical and Operational Lead for Neuro and Bladder and Bowel Services and Molly Waters, Learning Disability and Autism Liaison Nurse.
Bank Worker of the Year: Rosemary Palmer, Children’s Occupational Therapist, Bristol.
Inspirational Leader of the Year: Jen Tomkinson, Associate Director NHS@Home service
Award for Learning and Development: Lauren Gulwell, Children’s Services PA.
I Think They Deserve It: Nell Young, Health Visitor and the Integrated Community Stroke Service
Team of the Year: Out of Hours Team and Podiatry Admin Team
Chief Executive’s Award for Taking it Personally: Helen Martel and Fatima Yuseuf, Integrated Technicians in Children’s Services
Chair’s Award for Outstanding Contribution: Heather de la Croix, Speech and Language Therapist
Lifetime Achievement Award: David Pugh, Assistant Locality Manager.
