Celebrating our February 2025 Hero Award winners

Every year we recognise and celebrate individuals and teams across our Trust who have been nominated by their colleagues for making a real difference to others.

The February awards saw 12 winners from across NBT be celebrated for their achievements alongside their fellow heroes.

This month heroes were commended for the way they have truly put our new NBT Cares values into action. Whether that’s going above and beyond their role to bring positive change, providing truly patient centred care or supporting others in difficult times.

At the awards, Tony Hudgell, Director of Operational Estates and Facilities shared just how important it is to have these awards and gave a heartfelt thank you to all of this month's winners.

Find out why our Heroes were nominated below:

Zoe Rees, Patient Communications and Engagement Assistant

Nominated by Jessica Knott

Patient information plays a vital role in delivering effective, patient-centered, and high-quality care. I would like to recognise the exceptional efforts of Zoe who consistently assists and advises content owners on the recommendation and creation of both printed A5 leaflets and digital patient information we provide to our patients. Zoe’s dedication to improving patient information is evident through her meticulous attention to detail and her proactive approach. A recent example of her outstanding contribution is the cost-saving measure she identified. Zoe proposed printing the front and rear covers of our printed patient information leaflets in greyscale instead of colour. Well done Zoe!

Claire Critchard, Outpatients Support Manager

Nominated by Jelourd Lindero

Claire has been working for 10 years. She has been a pillar of support to our manager as well as to our nursing staff. Moreover, she has been very kind and very compassionate towards consultants and other support managers that she works with. Any queries regarding room scheduling, ordering, and admin queries, Claire is your gal. She has been an amazing friend to us, we know we have been depending on her for a lot of things and we know her job is not easy yet Claire brings out a positive vibe that keeps us going.

Georgina Hunter, Staff Nurse

Nominated by Sarah Kinghan

George is always putting her patients first, whether that's getting them breakfast from the canteen as they don't like the hospital food or showering patients who she isn't allocated too. She is friendly, helpful, caring, compassionate and full of hope. She makes patients feel like they're important, cared for, loved and taken care of, even when she's not having the best time herself. She always makes sure that she sees through promises she makes and always takes the time to interact with patients and their relatives, even when she's really busy. She is an asset to our team and she should be awarded for the amazing job she does everyday.

Carlos Mata Saenz, Advanced Practitioner

Nominated by Angel Goldstrom

I would like to nominate Carlos for recognition as NBT Staff Hero, as his contributions to the team are truly exceptional. Carlos is a remarkable member of our team who consistently exudes positivity, always seeing the best in others and encouraging them to thrive. He has an admirable ability to create a supportive and respectful environment where colleagues feel valued. One of Carlos’s standout qualities is his balanced approach to challenges. He is never hesitant to seek help when necessary while demonstrating remarkable initiative in tackling difficult tasks. His proactive and humble nature makes him a dependable and inspiring colleague. Carlos is deeply committed to patient safety, fostering a sense of trust and assurance among his team. I always feel safe and supported when he is present, and his openness to sharing ideas while valuing the input of others promotes a truly inclusive and collaborative atmosphere. His caring nature, ambitious spirit, and dedication to excellence significantly enhance our team dynamic. It is a privilege to work alongside Carlos, and I am confident he will continue to inspire and uplift those around him.

Anu Bright, Emergency Zone Receptionist

Nominated by Dominique Duma

Anu is a true NBT Hero. In the first week of December the Trust was in a Critical Incident and working under immense pressure. The Emergency Department was incredibly busy and Anu was working a night shift on the reception. Anu remained focused on his work and although a very distressing event, he continued to work his shift, putting the needs of the patients first. Anu has demonstrated the NBT values, as he has also shown compassion to the perpetrator of the attack.

Bob Sims, Store Manager

Nominated by Paul Davies

Bob is a true asset to NBT with is willingness to assist his colleagues and NBT beyond expectations. Going outside his remit on numerous occasions and never complaining. He just goes about his job quietly and without fuss or supervision to achieve a high level of efficiency and on a personal level he helped me immensely work through some difficult times, when I was unable to be on site and he was prompt answering phone calls, emails and texts.

Mark Read, Chaplaincy Team Leader

Nominated by Ann O’Malley

Mark is an incredibly passionate and person focused team leader who has continuously delivered an incredible Spiritual, Pastoral and Religious Care service at NBT. Recently he led an inspiring campaign and for this I wish to nominate him as an NBT hero. In November 2024 Mark led NBTs National Inter Faith Week Celebrations. This week long huge collaborative celebration went above and beyond for patients, visitors and staff. He led the SPaRC team and they hosted over 100 people in a celebration of religious and cultural diversity and inclusion. The week saw a wide range of health and faith information stands, music and dance including African, Indian, Turkish, Druid, Christian and Baha’i. He collaborated with a range of colleagues across NBT to run creative workshops exploring spirituality and health and coordinated a variety of religious services in the Sanctuary. He also hosted NBT's second Faith Leaders Event where the group explored how we could work more closely with local faith leaders to improve access to our services, reduce barriers to healthcare and better understand the experiences of their faith communities. Mark shaped this week and brought along so many people on a positive journey.

Gabor Csorba, CSM Support Manager

Nominated by Natalie Smith

Gabor has recently been assisting Cardiology and Ward 27A with their management of inpatient transfers across to the Bristol Heart Institute (at UHBW). This piece of work came from a project initiated by the CMS team; however, Gabor has gone above and beyond to ensure that the project has gone to plan and benefits all teams involved. The result is an incredible IT solution in the form of a database which tracks patients awaiting work-up and transfer to the BHI for interventional and surgical procedures, ensuring that it is clearly visible to all who the patients are, which diagnostics they are due/have happened, and a live commentary for updates from the CSM team on the status of beds at the receiving trust. Gabor has impressed us not only with his IT skills but also his ingenuity and helpfulness in creating a really sleek digital solution to support high quality patient care. Thank you, Gabor!

Luis Silva, Housekeeper

Nominated by Kate Mann

We would like to nominate our housekeeper Luis as an NBT Hero. He really does go above and beyond for our patients on Gate 8a. We have received so many compliments from patients and relatives for the care and time he spends in ensuring patients are made to feel comfortable and are well fed and well watered. Luis has had to work with reduced housekeeping numbers recently and has always maintained a positive attitude when faced with an ever increasing workload. He will help feed patients, run errands for patients and always takes time to chat to the patients and make them feel very cared for. He often stays late to finish his work and will always go and say goodbye to patients before he leaves. He really is a true NBT hero for providing such patient centered care and he really does meet all of the trust values in his approach to work. well done Luis.

Grace Wong, Respiratory Physiology Booking Coordinator

Nominated by Jason Viner

Grace is a fantastic coordinator. She is relatively new to this post and has risen to a high standard in a short period of time due to hard work and a fast learning curve. She works really hard to coordinate all of the patients appointments. Respiratory Physiology have been a pilot site for the digital appointment letters system and through their hard work we now are achieving 96% of all our letters being sent digitally, this success has been achieved due to their continuing dedication to NBT. She demonstrates caring by always listening to the patients and arranging the appointments with patients in mind. They are really good at supporting the Respiratory Physiology service and she makes the Clinicians roles easier to perform due to her administrative excellence. She is respectful and helps all patients achieve the appointments they require.

Emma Wike, Temporary Staffing Coordinator

Nominated by Vicki Elnagar

A bank worker called in who was clearly very distressed due to some personal challenges in their life. I overhead Emma speaking to them and the care and understanding shown was outstanding. She listened to the caller and made sure they knew they were being listened to. There was not judgment or presumptions being taken and Emma signposted them to appropriate resources whilst reassuring them that they would be supported by the Trust. Her tone was gentle and she was so patient and kind. Emma was clearly demonstrating the trust values and NBT is so proud to have her! Thanks Emma!

James Wade, Nursing Associate

Nominated by Nicky Riley

James is a remarkable young man. He has recently completed his studies to become a nursing associate on Gate 7a. Although he found the course challenging he persevered and reached his goal. I am extremely proud of him, as are all of his work colleagues and friends. He is a pleasure to work with and the patients he looks after always give positive feedback on the care he has given. He goes out of his way to support his colleagues & he is a great asset to Gate 7a. On a personal note he looked after a friend of mines husband who has since sadly passed away. To this day my friend still talks about James and the care he gave her husband & what an amazing nurse he is. He obviously made such an impact on her family, as he does to all his patients and their families that he cares for James so deserves to be recognised for his hard work & dedication to his patients / work colleagues & to NBT.