NSFT launches People’s Choice award recognising staff efforts | News and events

Patients and service users whose lives have been touched by the work of specialist mental health staff can now nominate them for an award.

Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust (NSFT), which provides specialist mental health and learning disability services across the two counties, has this week opened nominations for its People’s Choice Award as part of its 2023 Staff Excellence Awards. The Trust is keen to hear from patients, service users, carers, families and members of our local community who wish to nominate a team or individual from NSFT who they feel deserves special recognition for delivering exceptional care.

NSFT Chief Executive Stuart Richardson said: “Patients and service users tell us on a regular basis how much they appreciate the care and support they have received, and our People’s Choice Award is an opportunity for people who have used or experienced our services to recognise the staff who have made a difference to their lives.”

“We have worked as a team to improve our services for all those who need us and while we recognise there is still a lot of work ahead, I am proud of our caring and compassionate staff. Every day they touch the lives of thousands of people across Norfolk and Suffolk, providing care and treatment and supporting people’s recovery, while focusing on what they can do to continuously improve.”

Nearly 90,000 people access services from NSFT and its 5,000 staff every single year. 

Teams provide care for a range of different and complex mental health illnesses from many different locations across Norfolk and Suffolk, including GP surgeries, in people’s own homes, in specialist mental health hospitals and with partners such as the East of England Ambulance Service Trust (EEAST) in dedicated 999 emergency response cars.

The People’s Choice award is for any NSFT staff member who has delivered outstanding care and compassion in either the Trust’s children’s or adult services, either in clinical or non-clinical roles.

Nominations can be made online at www.nsft.nhs.uk/awards2023 or via a FREEPOST form available at NSFT sites across Norfolk and Suffolk.  

Nominations can be made until 6 September 2023. 

Last year’s winner was Jonathan Dickson, an advanced mental health practitioner who works with homeless people as part of the East Suffolk rough sleeper team.

He said: “Getting recognised for the work I do with the homeless population of Ipswich was a huge honour and helped to highlight the needs of this group of individuals who have, for too long, been marginalised from mainstream services.

“Many of the individuals I work with struggle with chronic multiple and complex needs but are often unlikely to be able to access the help they need due to a variety of issues. Winning this award showed the huge amount of positive things that can be done to help someone suffering from homelessness. Often, with some small reasonable adjustments, they can  access the generic services they need that other people in the population are more easily able to do which can have a major impact on their lives.”

This February, the Trust’s overall rating was upgraded by the Care Quality Commission in recognition of significant improvements which have focused on improving the safety and quality of services, as well as the experiences of both service users, patients and staff. Sixty percent of inspected services are now rated ‘good’.