A dedicated and conscientious staff nurse and an invaluable system administrator are the winners of March’s You Made a Difference awards.
Rhiannan Dean has worked in the neurosciences critical care unit (NCCU) for nearly three years, moving from orthopaedics where she started her nursing career. Rhiannan’s role as a staff nurse on NCCU involves looking after patients who are critically ill after what is often a sudden and traumatic event, and supporting families through a stressful time.
She has worked in critical care surge areas such as our J3 ward, in difficult conditions, welcoming new members to the team and making them feel comfortable.
Rhiannan’s focus on wellbeing isn’t just for patients and relatives, it often extends to members of the team. Her calm and approachable demeanour means many people look to her for support and advice.
Rhiannan is a passionate, dedicated, conscientious and hardworking nurse. The NCCU is very proud and fortunate to have her as part of the team.
This is reflected in the winning nomination from staff and a patient’s relative, extracts of which told us:
I was a little nervous on my redeployment to NCCU to help as a CAT B nurse. Rhiannan was amazing - she was kind, patient and made me feel welcomed and useful. She has so much knowledge and although it was a busy shift with a demanding workload, she found the time to support me and show me new skills.
Rhiannan was professional and so passionate about her job and it was lovely to work with her. I would like to say a massive thank you to her for taking me under her wing and let her know how amazing she was.
Rhiannan has been providing end of life care for my brother over her past two 12 hour shifts. She has put together a memory box for my niece, which was amazing. She has supported me and my parents and been very kind since we arrived on the ward.
Mark Walker has worked in the e-rostering team since CUH first started rolling it out in 2007. Mark leads on some of the more complex reporting out of HealthRoster, CUH’s electronic management system and workforce tool which allows us to effectively and safely allocate staff and resources across the Trust.
Mark either produces the information required by teams or helps set them up to be proficient in sourcing data themselves directly from HealthRoster.
Mark is the link with the medical team, allied health professional teams and works as a national expert when updates of the e-rostering programme are being developed.
Mark trained as a nurse at CUH, qualifying in 1996. He spent several years as a ward manager in care of the elderly.
As a self-confessed nerd, he was creating ward rosters with lots of automatic formatting, so when CUH was looking to start e-rostering formally in 2007, Mark was a natural choice to be on the steering group.
Mark has been tenacious in developing new technical skills and taking the team forward and leading the way for e-rostering developments.
Excerpts from the winning nomination said:
Mark has been invaluable in creating the roster for our ward. The number of redeployed staff and reconfiguration of the ward has meant a huge amount of work which he has done with great patience and efficiency.
Mark is always kind and supportive and I'm sure that he is in great demand, however you wouldn't realise that as he gives a high level of support whenever asked.