HARD-WORKING staff at The Royal Bolton were thanked for their remarkable achievements at an awards ceremony.

Chairman David Wakefield and Chief Executive Dr Jackie Bene said it was a delight to praise staff from across the Bolton NHS Foundation Trust for their hard work over the last two of years.

Dr Bene said: “It was a night to celebrate and thank all our staff for their contributions to our services, making improvements for our patients.

"I’m very proud of them and there were some shining examples of commitment which were rewarded in the particular categories.”

The Student of the Year award went to Student Nurse Emma Lees who, despite being new to her placement, had the confidence and courage to speak up and suggest how improvements could be made to the student programme.

The award for Volunteer of the Year went to Rosemary Evans for her work visiting patients and staff on the wards two days a week and giving them spiritual and religious care.

The John Briscoe Award was shared by acute pain sister Trudy Hadcroft and vascular nurse specialist Paula Thompson who will each receive a bursary to support further studies to Masters level.

The Extra Mile Award went to Marion Hornby, District Nurse at Farnworth, who valiantly tried CPR when faced with a serious road traffic accident.

The Employee of the Year Award in the non-clinical category went to Ward Clerk Alison Rimmer who was said to have made an “invaluable contribution” to orthopaedics by ward manager Shirley Whittaker who nominated her.

The Employee of the Year award was won by podiatrist Penelope Hilton who has been a member of the NHS Podiatry Team for 46 years.

The award for clinical Team of the Year was won by the Community Paediatric Advanced Nursing Practitioner Team. Janice O’Brien, Maria Gault and Jill Davies picked up the award for their innovative work which has led to hundreds more children being able to be seen closer to their own homes rather than hospital.

The award for Team of the Year in non-clinical went to the Medical Secretariat in General Surgery, Elective Care. Stephanie Peet, Angela Litter, Karen Bailey, Alison Gray, Janet Steele, Joanne Slater, Charlotte Russell, Donna Hill, Julie Cartwright and Sheila Ashworth won for their work making sure GPs get outpatient results within five working days.

The Quality Improvement of the Year award went to the Acute Frailty Unit Team. The multidisciplinary team was nominated for work ensuring older people who do not need hospital admission but still need a short period of assessment or observation get the appropriate help and support.