Dedicated nurses, doctors, medical teams and supporting colleagues who have gone the extra mile to provide exceptional care for their patients are among those set to be honoured at Warrington and Halton Teaching Hospitals’ annual staff awards.
The WHH Thank You Awards acknowledge teams and individuals for their inspiring innovations, incredible achievements and significant contributions to healthcare over the past 12 months.
This year a record-breaking 300 nominations were received from staff and members of the public across 11 categories – and the finalists have now been revealed.
Accolades to be presented at the event in May include Colleague of the Year, Rising Star, Innovation and Improvement, as well as several team awards recognising the achievements of departments across the Trust.
Amongst the finalists are Samantha Durcan, nominated for the life-changing and personalised support she gives to patients living with a terminal illness, Babu Dharmarajan who has been praised for his commitment to supporting the development of nursing education and skills, and the Gynaecology Super Clinic Team for their work to transform care and reduce waiting lists.
A number of special trophies will also be presented on the night, including an Outstanding Achievement Award selected by Chief Executive Nikhil Khashu, and the People’s Choice Award, which members of the public were invited to submit nominations for. More than 80 entries were received praising the health heroes that have made a positive difference to their experience at Warrington and Halton hospitals over the past year.
The finalists for 2025 in the People’s Choice category are:
Jonathan Cliffe, Midwifery Team Leader, Team River
Multiple nominations were received in this category, with one person stating: “Jonathan has been involved as a midwife with all four of my children and I couldn’t fault him one bit. His professional, calm, thorough and friendly work style made me feel completely at ease. So much so that after my first child was born I chose to opt for him as my constant throughout my future three pregnancies and I’d choose him all over again and again!”
Louise Foley, Specialist Cancer Nurse
An extract from Louise’s nomination reads: “Louise was an absolute rock during my cancer diagnosis and treatment – she made everything happen quickly and efficiently as well as providing much-needed emotional support and positivity to me and my family at every stage.”
Sue Jones, Specialist Nurse, Children’s Epilepsy Team
One person who nominated Sue said: “Sue is so calm and reassuring and is always at the end of the phone to offer any support and guidance. I want her to know what an amazing job she is doing and I hope that she knows the impact that she had on us and probably hundreds of other families along the way.”
Read the full list of finalists on the WHH website.
Nikhil Khashu, Chief Executive of Warrington and Halton Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, said: “Our Thank You Awards honour the hard-working individuals and teams across the Trust who continue to make a real difference to the lives of our patients. I am so proud to see the dedication and commitment to delivering outstanding patient care and experience shine through our award nominations.
“As always the judges had an incredibly difficult task in selecting our finalists, which is testament to the extraordinary impact our staff make day in day out. A big congratulations to all our finalists, and thank you to those who took the time to submit a nomination – we genuinely loved reading each one and will ensure your messages of support are passed on to our teams.”
The winners of each category will be announced at the awards ceremony on Friday 16 May at the Titanic Hotel in Liverpool, and every finalist will receive a highly commended award for being shortlisted.
The celebration event is funded through the support of local businesses and corporate partners, and the Trust would like to hear from companies that may be interested in supporting the event as a sponsor. For further enquiries email [email protected] or call 01925 662993.
