A number of Bundaberg Region Wide Bay Hospital and Health Service staff have been awarded excellence awards at their awards event including Tamara Olive, an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Worker.
The awards recognise the outstanding contribution of team members across the Wide Bay Hospital and Health Service (WBHHS), with staff acknowledged for their contribution.
Tamara received the Cultural Connections award for bridging cultural and medical gaps beautifully for all involved.
She also demonstrated respect for her culture while finding a balance between allowing patients and families time and space but ensuring critical medical concerns were all addressed.
The awards recognised how staff and volunteers have put into practice WBHHS values of collaboration, accountability, respect, excellence and seeing care “through patients’ eyes while implementing, delivering and supporting vital health services across the region.
Anna Smith, a Registered Nurse in Childers received a WBHHS Board values Ambassador award for her efforts in improving a culture of excellence, quality, improvement and supportive attitude in mentoring many graduate nurses.
She also stepped up into an acting clinical nurse role due to shortages that occurred due to COVID-19 at Childers Hospital and was always willing to work multiple shifts to ensure her colleagues and community were supported.
Other Bundaberg Region based employees who received awards included Deyarn Williams, Sarah Bainbridge and Darren Bell.
The Director-General of Queensland Health Shaun Drummond was a special guest at the awards, which was attended by the finalists of each award which were selected from a total of 174 nominations.
Wide Bay Hospital and Health Board chairperson Peta Jamieson said the awards provided a great opportunity to not only highlight the many examples of excellence across the WBHHS, but also to reflect on what has been achieved.
“It is a great honour for myself and my fellow Board members to be a part of the Excellence Award as it’s a wonderful opportunity to celebrate the achievements of WBHHS staff and thank them for the important work they do each and every day,” Ms Jamieson said.
“The Board is constantly amazed by the phenomenal efforts of all Wide Bay HHS staff throughout the year and appreciates the high standard of care consistently delivered, even in the face of the very challenging COVID-19 situation.
“Across the health service, there are many varied examples of excellence, and it is important to make the time to celebrate these as it can be all too easy to overlook them as staff and volunteers are busy getting on with their vital work each day.”
WBHHS Chief Executive Debbie Carroll praised all the award winners, finalists and nominations for their outstanding efforts which reflected on the overall commitment and adaptability of staff throughout the last 12 months.
“These range of nominations for these awards have really reflected the full diversity of our workforce and volunteers, as well as the range of work and challenges that we faced together as a team,” Ms Carroll said.
“While it’s been a difficult year in many ways, our team has continued to deliver high-quality, patient-centred care while grappling with the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic as well as increased patient demand.
“Each and every day I see staff rise to these challenges to deliver care through patients’ eyes, in line with our organisational values, and I am immensely proud of the outcomes our team achieves for our patients, consumers and community.”
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I have been a patient of Bundaberg Hospital many, many time and I cannot thank all the Doctors, nurses and staff enough for everything they have done for me.
All of them work tirelessly to ensure all patients are cared for as a human being and not just a number.
I am so very grateful to all of them and thank them from the bottom of my heart for all the care shown to me.