Three colleagues shortlisted for BBC Radio Derby's Key Worker Award
Three UHDB colleagues have been shortlisted for the Key Worker Award in this year’s BBC Radio Derby Make a Difference Awards.
Paul Brooks MBE, Amanda Broad and Paul Gothard have been selected to attend the awards ceremony in early September after being nominated by fellow colleagues for their outstanding contributions and commitment to health care in the local area.
The Make a Difference Awards were launched in 2021 and aim to recognise “remarkable people” marking their achievements and contributions to the communities they serve.
Amanda Broad, Sister on Ward 310 at Royal Derby Hospital, was nominated after she helped to set up a wedding for a terminally ill patient, going above and beyond to make all of the arrangements and fulfilling the patient’s final wish.
Despite having worked three days in a row and working around the clock to arrange a registrar, inviting family members and decorating a room, Amanda came in on her day off to act as a witness to the wedding.
Amanda said: “I think it’s important. End of life care is extremely important and we’ve all had to deal with that, both personally and in our work lives. It’s vital that whatever people want as their final wish, we make happen. It’s so important as life has been too short for too many people.”
On hearing that she had been shortlisted, Amanda added: “I just feel happy. I’m glad I’ve made a difference in someone’s life and seeing the patients smiling when they said I do was out of this world.”
Director of Estates, Facilities and Patient Experience, Paul Brooks MBE, has also been shortlisted for the Key Worker Award. Paul has dedicated his entire career working in the NHS in Derby, starting as a plumbing apprentice when he was 16, and has now accumulated 39 years of service. Paul’s continued and unwavering commitment were recognised in The Queen’s New Year’s Honours in 2020 as Paul was awarded an MBE for services to Healthcare Leadership
Paul is universally regarded as an inspirational leader, known for promoting positive and inclusive experience. He also invented ‘The Derby Door’ which had a major impact in managing the Covid-19 cross-contamination during the peak of the pandemic and was at the centre of UHDB’s management of the pandemic, ensuring staff, patients and visitors were safe, fed and watered and that our hospitals remained clean – totally devoting himself to the process.
Paul said: “I’m incredibly lucky to have worked so long in an incredible organisation surrounded by incredible people. I try to be as engaging and as passionate about my job as possible and people will help you and feed off that. Even when it’s a bit tough, I try to do that for people.
“It’s just brilliant to be honest. I’ve listened to Radio Derby all my life, I’m Derby born and bred and it’s quite special for me. To be recognised is just incredible and is really something quite personal.”
A third UHDB colleague, Intensive Care Nurse Paul Gothard, has also been shortlisted for the Key Worker Award.
Paul has consistently shown that it is his nature to go above and beyond for the patients and families he cares for, which was epitomised when he went for the extra mile for the family during the difficult time by creating a memory box of keepsakes for the patient’s granddaughter, sorting food and drinks for the family and even staying late after his shift to make sure they were okay.
Paul said: “Palliative care is the one chance we have to get it right for patients and their families and the main goal is to support them to ensure the patient has a dignified and comfortable death. This can either be through the use of medication, but the main thing is to work with patient if they’re still able to, communicate with compassion and care and allowing patients to have that time with their families.
“I’m really grateful to have been nominated and to be shortlisted from there is amazing.”