Trust colleague celebrated for going the extra mile to deliver compassionate and inclusive patient care
Kristian Powell joined University Hospitals of Derby and Burton last November as a Fitness Instructor, bringing valuable clinical training to the role as a qualified physiotherapist and a positive and passionate attitude towards delivering high quality and personalised patient care.
Several months into his role in the Pulmonary Rehabilitation team, Kristian has made a big impact and difference in his team and on patients, being recognised with the 'Patient Hero' monthly award for his compassionate and inclusive approach.
"Receiving this award means a lot. It really is a confidence boost."
Kristian said, " I chose to go into physiotherapy due to my background through playing sports myself - that was how my initial knowledge around physiotherapy started. I loved the aspect of not only being able to help and support people but also the problem solving skills that go with it. You go from start to finish on a journey with the patient to get them back to where they want to be physically."
During a routine discharge assessment, Kristian identified that a patient, of Polish background, had scored highly for depression and anxiety on their psychological questionnaires. In addition to completing the assessment, Kristian took the extra step of sensitively addressing the patient’s mental health concerns with them, and handling the communication and cultural differences with compassion.
Kristian explained: "To me I see things like this as part of my day job, it was the care that was needed for this particular patient to ensure they got the support they needed. I was delivering the care I usually would."
Going the extra mile to deliver inclusive and personalised care
Going far beyond expectations, Kristian followed up with the patient and completed a referral to the Improving Access to Psychological Therapies (IAPT) service, which offers appropriate mental health and wellbeing support to patients who need it. Recognising the importance of culturally appropriate support alongside the initial referral, he also took the initiative to research and identify a local charity in Derby specifically supporting Polish and Eastern European people with their mental health. Kristian ensured all relevant information, including the IAPT referral details, were translated into Polish, giving the patient the right tools to make informed decisions in their own language.
Thanks to Kristian’s proactive approach and empathy, the patient has since accessed the service and is now receiving the support they need. Kristian's commitment to patients is exemplary to our Trust values of compassion and to always improve. His ability to create a safe, non-judgemental environment has also been recognised by multiple patients who have shared how comfortable they felt opening up to him about their mental health.
Kristian said: "Working at UHDB has genuinely been amazing. Everyone is really supportive - I'm here to learn as much as possible and my supervisor Ross Martin has given me so much one to one support to ensure I'm delivering what I should be and what's right for patients."
Amanda Rawlings, Chief People Officer, presented Kristian with the award and said: "Kristian’s confidence in his role has grown significantly in a short space of time, and his development demonstrates the positive impact of investing in early-career professionals who are committed to learning and growing within the Trust.
"As Kristian looks to the future, we are proud of the difference he continues to make to UHDB in a physiotherapy role."
Would you like to nominate a colleague for a Monthly Making a Difference Award?
If you would like to nominate a colleague or team for a Monthly Making a Difference Award, please let us know.
Our Monthly Making a Difference Awards celebrate those who have shown exceptional care and who have delivered improvements across safety, quality, effectiveness and patient experience and demonstrated the Trust values of Compassion, Openness and Excellence.
There are three monthly Making a Difference Awards categories:
- Chief Executive Award – chosen by our CEO
- Patient Hero Award – nominated by patients
- Excellence Award - you can nominate colleagues and teams
You can nominate in two ways:
By completing this new e-form which will be sent directly to our awards team >
By sending a 300 word nomination, along with the name of the team or individual, their job title and where they work, to: uhdb.employeeawards@nhs.net .