December's You Made a Difference team award goes to the D9 ward team.
Ward D9 is an extremely busy oncology and haematology ward - a mixture of very acutely unwell patients on curative pathways, as well as patients receiving palliative care and in their last days of life.
The D9 staff balance the needs of both groups of patients, as well as their loved ones and always strive to provide Safe, Kind and Excellent care, as these nominations demonstrate.
Ward D9 has a large workforce, with a core of staff who have been with D9 for 20 years and despite many staff changes over the years, the staff always look out for each other, both in work and outside. The team support each other through difficult shifts and sad times, and no matter what the day brings, there is always laughter.
This year has been exceptionally challenging, as it has for everyone, but all the staff on D9 willingly did what was asked of them and continued to provide the best possible care across both CUH and the Nuffield sites despite many challenges along the way.
When D9 reopened as a green ward in July, they amalgamated with D6 haematology, and the two teams are working brilliantly together. We are so fortunate to have their knowledge, skills and dedication and this has only strengthened the ward.
This is a team that we are so proud to lead and are delighted that the hard work and dedication of every member of staff has been recognised.
The winning nominations said of the team:
I just wish I could do more to express my thanks, admiration and utter amazement for everything they do. I came into hospital barely able to move, yet in less than a month I am extremely mobile and pain free and responding to treatment extremely well. I put all of this down to the utterly incredible team.
From the very bottom of my heart, thank you all for everything you have done for me and continue to do for everyone under your care. In short: got me mobile, dealt with pain and spasms, treated me for pneumonia and myeloma and a million other things that go unnoticed, not least of which sparing time for a chat.
I wanted to do this nomination as a well done and thank you to the D9 team in regards to blood culture contamination rates. D9 have done amazingly well and, despite sending large amounts of peripheral blood cultures taken each month, they have had no contaminated peripheral samples since February this year. Very impressive!