UHNM staff and young fundraiser shortlisted for prestigious community awards
University Hospitals of North Midlands NHS Trust (UHNM) has been shortlisted for three awards at this year’s Your Heroes Awards.
Sadie Bennett, cardiac clinical scientist, Joanne Blackburn, critical care staff nurse and staff from UHNM’s Maternity Centre are all up for the ‘NHS Hero’ award.
Alfie Simcox, who raised £2,000 for UHNM Charity will also find out if he’s taking home the ‘Future Stars’ trophy during the star-studded ceremony on 27 November.
The Your Heroes Awards, organised by Staffordshire University in partnership with local organisations and businesses celebrates the unsung heroes of Stoke-on-Trent and North Staffordshire.
Sadie Bennett is using her published master's research on aortic stenosis to develop an artificial intelligence (AI) model that will improve the detection and diagnosis of heart valve disease.
Sadie said: “Being one of the nominees from UHNM for the NHS Hero award is incredibly humbling. For my work to be recognised alongside such inspiring people in Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire means a great deal, and it reminds me why I’m passionate about clinical academia and striving to have Healthcare Science services that are evidence based, providing the best care of our patients.”
The multi-disciplinary team at the Royal Stoke University Hospital’s Maternity Centre made up of obstetric, gynaecology, anaesthetist, urology, maternity, and pathology staff are shortlisted after saving the lives of Caroline Lowndes from Tunstall and her newborn baby Marleigh by performing an emergency caesarean section after Caroline, who had been diagnosed with placenta accreta spectrum, suffered a life-threatening ruptured uterus and blood loss.
Ms Gomathy Gopal, consultant in fetal medicine said: “I’m really proud and humbled to be shortlisted working as part of the excellent team at Royal Stoke, who go above and beyond their day-to-day activities to help our patients and their families.”
Despite needing a double organ transplant for her kidney and pancreas, staff nurse Joanne Blackburn continues to work in the Critical Care Unit at Royal Stoke University Hospital, providing care to some of UHNM’s most unwell patients whilst encouraging others to sign up to the organ donation register.
Joanne said: “I feel very honoured to be shortlisted, but feel all our staff at UHNM are heroes.”
Alfie Simcox, 12, from Crewe, spent months photographing trucks and lorries at truck stops and motorway bridges to create a calendar celebrating the trucking community. He chose to fundraise for UHNM Charity after his grandad, Graham, received care from the Royal Stoke’s Cancer Centre for multiple myeloma
Alfie said: “My dad is a truck driver and I’m passionate about them too so I wanted to do something that could help people, which is how the calendar idea happened.”
Celebrities supporting the Your Heroes Awards include Oscar-winner Rachel Shenton, stage star Jonathan Wilkes, comedian Nick Hancock, potter Keith Brymer-Jones, boxer Nathan Heaney, and playwright Deb McAndrew, along with players from both Stoke City and Port Vale football clubs.