Glasgow City Health and Social Care Partnership’s Staff Awards for Excellence Awards Ceremony took place on 14 September in Glasgow City Chambers. 

The Awards recognise and thank individual staff and teams within the Partnership for ‘going the extra mile’ in their work especially in situations when there have been additional pressures or when they have implemented an improvement idea that has yielded significant benefit.

The awards were hosted by Councillor Mhairi Hunter, Chair, Glasgow City Integration Joint Board and David Williams, Chief Officer, Glasgow City Health and Social Care Partnership.  David welcomed staff and teams nominated for the awards to this year’s ceremony, where commendations and winners were announced and presented by the Partnership’s Senior Management Team within the following categories.

Category One – Our Patients, Service Users and Carers

This category recognises those who provide support to the people who we work with and for and who go the extra mile to meet the social care and/or health needs of our patients, service users or carers.

There were two commendations made in this category. The first to Val Forgie, Physiotherapist and the second to Euan Rutherford, Social Worker.

The winner of this category was Beverley Grantham. Beverley has worked as an Occupational Therapist (OT) within South Locality Mental Health Services since 1993 and has been the lead OT since 2002.  She has recently taken on the additional role of Discharge Coordinator.

David Walker, Assistant Chief Officer, Corporate Strategy presented the award to Beverley.  He said: “We are all acutely aware of the impact delayed discharges have on our service.  In her role of discharge co-ordinator Beverley has worked tirelessly on this project.  She has developed the role successfully and with staff teams, and has assisted many of our patients to a successful and timely discharge, with appropriate services in place.  She is hard working, professional in all aspects of her work and well respected within all disciplines.

Category Two – Our People

This category recognises those who support a positive workforce where staff feel listened to and valued or go the extra mile to support the people who we work with to meet their needs and improve our services, with an emphasis on joint, collaborative working.

The Our People category had two commendations.  The Occupational Therapy (OT) Competency and Practice - Workstream Group.  The team consists of Hilary Bell, Karen Lovering, Dorothy Rae, Alison Docherty and Diana McCrone.

Also commended was Alan Speirs, Senior Officer (Business Development) for supporting communications activity across the Partnership.

Working with Black African Families project was the winner of this category. Susanne Millar, Chief Officer, Strategy and Operations and CSWO presented the award to the team.  She said: “The team have demonstrated an aptitude for cultural diversity and service improvement and excelled in their endeavours to improve the working relationships with local communities.  They have significantly enhanced the knowledge base of front line social work/health practitioners.

“They have gone beyond the original remit they were given and have now produced a training programme that is contemporary in nature and underpinned by a need to work in partnership with local communities.  Their approach epitomises leadership values and demonstrates behaviour that deserves formal credit.”

Susanne presented the award to the team, which consists of Liz Owens, Team Leader Glasgow Child Protection Team; Maura Harrigan, Assistant Service Manager and Alison Cowper, Service Manager.

Category Three - Our Leaders

This category recognises those who are leading and managing with vision and imagination, with a drive to do things differently to provide a better service and improve outcomes for our patients, service users, carers and other stakeholders, with an emphasis on joint, collaborative working.

Two commendations were made in this category. These were Marian Miller, Deputy Manager, Women’s Services - Homelessness and Darren Gill, Social Worker.

John Walker, Nurse Team Leader, was the winner of this category. The award was presented by Jackie Kerr, Assistant Chief Officer, Adult Services and North West Locality Operations. She said: “John has worked in the Perinatal Service since it opened in 2004. He was the original Senior Charge Nurse within the Mother and Baby Unit and more recently, the Nurse Team Leader for the Perinatal Community Service.

“He has been a dedicated leader and role-model, achieving and maintaining Accreditation with Excellence, from The Royal College of Psychiatrists, for the Unit and in the past year, accreditation for the Community Service.  It is fitting that John receives this recognition this year; he is retiring in November after 36 years in NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde. He will be missed by staff and patients alike.”

Category Four - Our Resources

This category recognises those who are improving the way in which we as a Partnership do things with our resources so that we are better at what we do to meet people’s needs (for example, staff, buildings, equipment and information).

There were two commendations in the Our Resources category.   These were to Elizabeth Hay, Team Leader, Community Occupational Therapy and Johanna O’Connor, Admin Assistant, Family Group Decision Making Team.

Kingsway Medical Practice was the winner of this category.

The award was presented by Margaret Hogg, Assistant Chief Officer, Finance to Sandra Cahill, Prescribing Support Pharmacist.

Margaret said: “To release GP time, Kingsway Medical Practice established a pharmacist led diabetes clinic with the support of the local Diabetes Team at Gartnavel Hospital, the primary care Diabetes Specialist Nurse and the Kingsway Medical Practice Team.

“With links into the consultant team it was possible to continue to manage patients in primary care without referral to secondary care.  Increase in prescribing costs were minimised through both discontinuation of ineffective therapy and cost effective prescribing.  This initiative has seen an improved use of our resources as GP time has been released in line with the GP contract; consultant time is used more effectively and patients save time continuing to be managed at the GP practice.”

Category Five - Our Culture

This category recognises those who contribute to developing a partnership culture where there is more listening, more reflection and better working in our own teams and with other teams.

Two commendations were made. The first was to the NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde Schools Immunisation Team represented by Emma Finlay, Amanda Miller and Wilma Ahmed.  The second was to the Partnership’s Financial Assessment and Income Team who were represented by Val Smith, Anthony Leebody and Shona Muir.

The Intensive Support and Monitoring Service (ISMS) was the category winner.

Mike Burns, Assistant Chief Officer, Children’s Services and North East Locality Operations presented this award to George Lyons, Social Worker who was representing the team.  Mike said: “ISMS for a number of years has been at the forefront of partnership working in Glasgow.  It involves the main partners within education, mental health and social work working together to provide the city with a valued and robust alternative to secure care.

“The model is ground breaking and the partnership has designed a multi-agency response to meet the needs of the most challenging and complex young people. ISMS delivers excellence in the field of risk assessment and formulation.  This has the way that services work young people and their families and remodelled how education and mental health services work with difficult to reach young people.”

Councillor Mhairi Hunter, Chair of Glasgow City Integration Joint Board then announced the overall winner as the working with Black African Families Project.  This award is presented to the individual or project that the judges believed was the outstanding entry for this year’s staff awards. The Award was presented to Liz Owens, Team Leader Glasgow Child Protection Team and Maura Harrigan, Assistant Service Manager.

Councillor Hunter thanked everyone for attending the awards.  She said: “The quality of nominations received is testimony to the quality of the contribution you make.  They tell a story of outstanding achievement, great leadership and a real dedication to securing the best outcomes for service users.  You are all winners.  Thank you very much for everything you do and the extra mile you go to provide the best possible service to those who need us most.”