A conscientious domestic cleaner who constantly goes above and beyond and an exemplary nurse with vision and passion are the winners of June’s You Made a Difference awards.
Francisco Almeida started his role at Medirest through an agency in February this year and transferred to a full-time position as a domestic cleaner in May.
Francisco is very detail oriented and committed to his job. He is a person that can be relied upon and whenever he is given an additional task, he completes it on time.
Francisco takes the initiative, is a great team player and is well-liked by the clinical team and his colleagues.
This is reflected in the winning nomination which told us:
Francisco goes above and beyond his cleaning role to ensure that families and children are comfortable during their stay in the emergency department. He provides blankets and pillows when we are busy. He is very warm and polite to everyone he meets.
Francisco is constantly going above and beyond the call of duty. He is very helpful and constantly offers his help to us as a team. He takes it upon himself to help clear the bed spaces and remake the beds ready for the next patient. This really is additional work that is not within his normal role and makes so much difference to us as a nursing team when we are rushed off our feet. He really is a credit to the team.
Sofia Gomes began her role in September 2019 as thrombectomy specialist nurse. Her role involves expert clinical assessment of potential stroke and transient ischaemic attack (TIA) or ‘mini stroke’ patients arriving at the hospital, with particular focus on developing and implementing the stroke thrombectomy service.
Sofia also provides leadership to and management of the acute stroke nursing team, as well as being interim lead stroke nurse throughout the Covid pandemic.
Sofia is an excellent leader, inspiring her team to continually develop and improve. She is focused on providing excellent care to stroke patients and is continually looking at ways to improve the service in order to benefit patients.
Excerpts from the winning nomination said:
Sofia is an exemplary nurse. Her vision and passion is palpable. She plays a key role in raising awareness of the value of the stroke team and the services that positively impact patients experiencing a stroke.
Sofia is taking a leading role in establishing CUH’s stroke unit and stroke services as a centre of excellence. She recently took the initiative to submit an application for a team project to the Institute for Healthcare Improvement which was accepted. The focus of the team project is 'to improve patient care, improve outcomes and patient experience’.
The changes and contribution Sofia has made to the team goes above the regular call of her role and responsibilities.