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Birmingham hospital team awarded for ‘vital’ work to keep families and patients in-touch at height of pandemic

A group of medical students, ICU consultants and other retired and returning consultants from a Birmingham hospital who helped to keep patients in-touch with their loved ones while they were in hospital with coronavirus, have today received a national award in recognition of their work at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The NHS Parliamentary Awards, arranged by the NHS and supported by Fuji Film, are designed to recognise and celebrate some of the biggest achievements in health and social care.

The Critical Care Family Liaison Team at University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust today (Wednesday 7 July 2021) received the national Care and Compassion Award at a ceremony opened by the Prime Minister at One Great George Street, Westminster. The team were among nine other winners announced during the ceremony.

Midlands MPs sent hundreds of nominations that celebrated examples of staff who have gone above and beyond the call of duty including doctors, support workers and volunteers who have worked tirelessly throughout the pandemic to make a genuine difference to the people they care for.

The 10 winners were selected from more than 700 nominations and were judged by a national panel made up of senior leaders representing both staff and patients.

NHS staff were this week awarded the George Cross for 73 years dedicated service and the response to Covid-19 by Her Majesty the Queen.

Simon Stevens, NHS chief executive, said: “Since the NHS first opened its doors 73 years ago, our health service has faced the biggest challenge in its history with a pandemic on a scale not seen for a century.

“Staff have come together as never before, saving and improving the lives of hundreds of thousands of patients at an extremely difficult time for everyone.

“All of the nominees put forward for an award this year have done incredible work, and it is a great honour to be able to award our winners with the recognition they deserve for their incredible service to us all.”

At the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, critical care bed numbers quickly expanded to accommodate patients needing intensive care across the Trust’s three sites. Coinciding with this rise in numbers of critically ill patients was a restriction on all visitors to hospitals. In response to this, the Critical Care Family Liaison team was established and became the first point of contact for worried relatives, relaying their messages to patients and gathering information about each patient’s progress and sharing with loved ones – going above and beyond to support families during a very difficult time.

Dr Nigel Sturrock, Regional Medical Director at NHS England and NHS Improvement in the Midlands, said: “The Critical Care Family Liaison Team exemplifies the care and compassion of our NHS people. I am delighted that their hard work throughout the Covid-19 pandemic has been recognised with this award. I would also like to pay tribute to all the other Midlands nominees whose amazing work and dedication is reflected in the way the NHS runs every single day.”

Jess Phillips MP, who nominated the team, said: “During the first wave of coronavirus the work of this team keeping families connected with patients was vital while visits were restricted. Under intense pressure and considerable stress, the team have worked so hard for our people. I am so proud of them and delighted to see them honoured in such a way.”

Managing Director for Retail at LV= General Insurance, Heather Smith, said: “We’re delighted that the Critical Care Family Liaison team who are part of the University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust are the winners of this year’s Care and Compassion Award. The team have done incredible work to keep critically ill patients and their families connected during such a challenging year. They’ve shown care and compassion throughout, adapting to new ways of communicating with patients and families, which is what this award represents.

“We were so impressed by the high standard of entries from across the regions and I’d like to congratulate everyone. It’s fantastic to celebrate the remarkable skills and qualities of our NHS staff and LV= GI are proud to be part of it today.”

Chief Midwifery Officer for England and NHS Parliamentary Awards committee chair, Jacqueline Dunkley-Bent, said: “This year has been an exceptional one, both in terms of the challenges we have faced and the calibre of entrants we received to the awards. Our shortlisting teams had an extremely difficult task to select from more than 700 nominations submitted by over half of all MPs representing English constituencies. It has been incredibly difficult to judge, but we are confident that all our winners embody the skill, professionalism and compassion of the NHS.

“I hope that these awards go some way in honouring the contribution these inspiring people and teams have made for their country.”