photo: Elfed Roberts, Chairman, Elen Lansdown, Phil Benbow, Tania Marsden, Director of Human Resources, Steve Hobbs, Jess Brunet on behalf of the Student Volunteers, Gwyneth Page, Sivakumaran Sabanathan, Liz Aylett and Martin Jones, Chief Executive

The contribution of staff and volunteers to the work of the North West Wales NHS Trust has been recognised with a special awards ceremony.

The inaugural Achievement Awards recognised the contribution and commitment of staff and volunteers across the Trust.

Elfed Roberts, Chairman of the North West Wales NHS Trust said: “It was a great pleasure take time out from our daily duties to acknowledge some of our colleagues who have made a special contribution to the service delivered by the Trust and the wider community. As an Investor in People organisation, we recognise that our greatest resource is the people who work within our Trust as staff or volunteers. As a result, We are therefore delighted to take this opportunity to celebrate their commitment, energy and excellence.”

There were eight categories in total with the winners detailed below:

Services to Bilingual Healthcare: Elen Lansdown, Translator, Ysbyty Gwynedd

Elen Lansdown has been dedicated to promoting the use of the Welsh language within the organisation. Her passion for the language has been a major factor in ensuring that North West Wales is the envy of all other Trusts in Wales in terms of its ability to provide the public and patients it serves with a bilingual healthcare service.

Most outstanding contribution to improving the life of patients: Rhian Lloyd, Health Care Assistant, Dryll y Car Psychiatric Support Bed Unit, Barmouth

When Rhian is on duty she raises the spirits of everyone on the unit and motivates clients to undertake activities even if they feel poorly motivated. She has a special ability to help severely mentally ill and withdrawn clients to engage in activities, and through that engage with other staff to work on their mental health issues.

Outstanding contribution to work - Mr Sivakumaran Sabanathan, Staff Grade Surgeon, Surgical Directorate, Ysbyty Gwynedd

Mr Sabanathan encompasses the best qualities of a doctor. He is kind, modest and a hardworking surgeon who is well liked by all members of staff. He is the first port of call when there are crises in the department and has covered for all grades of staff following untoward events. In addition to supporting his colleagues clinically he has also helped trainees conduct research and write and publish papers. This improves the standards of care our patients receive and help us to attract high calibre trainees.

Contribution to the Wider Community: Phil Benbow, Psychiatric Liaison Nurse, Hergest Unit, Ysbyty Gwynedd

Phil has been involved with the Llanberis Mountain Rescue Team for over 30 years offering support to the Emergency Services and assisting with injured and missing mountaineers.

Adventures in Snowdonia largely end with happy memories, fantastic scenery and good fun, but sadly not all do and mountaineers like Phil provide an excellent service to those in need of rescue. The team is on-call 24 hours a day and make themselves available on a voluntary basis.

Phil is also a member of the Search and Rescue Dog Association training the dogs and handlers in search techniques. A few years ago Phil and his dog Jet were front page news when they found two lost children on Snowdon. Phil was also involved in advanced search and rescue techniques during the Lockerbie aeroplane bombing in 1988.

Working in Partnership: Liz Aylett, Arts Therapist and Trust Lead for Arts in Health

Liz Aylett leads the Arts Therapies Team, and has developed Arts in Health Programmes Trust wide.
These innovations have provided training and employment and have had a wide ranging impact on patient care. The Arts Therapies and Arts in Health have been identified as innovative new ways of working and have a visible, positive impact on patient services and have an active role as part of the Trust’s Public and Patient Involvement Strategy.

Outstanding Voluntary Contribution: The Hergest Student Volunteers

The volunteers attend two evenings a week but it does not stop there. They also spend another evening per week planning the sessions. They have raised money regularly to buy large items such as a table top football and a full size table tennis. They provide materials such as art, food items and beauty materials for each session. Perhaps more importantly than the above, is their generosity of spirit. They spend time with patients, doing various activities making sure that even the most ill patient is included.

E C Benn Award: Steve Hobbs, Resettlement Team Leader, Ysbyty Bryn y Neuadd

This sponsored award recognises longstanding professional achievement.

Credit for the successful resettlement of all of the residents from Bryn y Neuadd in no small part belongs to the Resettlement Team Leader, Mr Steve Hobbs. A Clinical Psychologist, Steve has worked for the Trust in various roles since 1979 and has guided his team with integrity, calm, patience, and understanding for almost twenty years. This he has done to ensure that a successful new permanent home, and a potential enhancing lifestyle has been provided for over 150 people.

A key to Steve’s achievements include amongst his many other skills, a lot of professional and financial acumen, attention to detail, a lot of devotion, and an appetite for hard work. He has earned the deep and abiding respect of his team and of the countless people he has had dealings with throughout his resettlement work.