Loose Women star to host ‘Oscars’ event celebrating NHS staff
A Loose Women star will host an ‘Oscars’ event celebrating the hard work, care and dedication of NHS workers.
The awards ceremony is being held by St George’s, Epsom and St Helier Hospital Group as a ‘thank you’ to staff and care teams who have made a real difference to patients’ lives and co-workers.
TV and radio presenter, musician and campaigner Myleene Klass will be championing the outstanding contributions of the winners at the hospitals Groups’ first-ever ‘gesh CARE awards.’
Myleene is an NHS advocate with her mother, Magdalena, working as a nurse for 40 years after coming to the UK from the Philippines in the 1970s.
The mum-of-three said: “I am the proud daughter of a Filipina NHS nurse so I know the sacrifices healthcare workers make to care for patients.
“It is my absolute honour to be able to thank the devoted workers at St George’s, Epsom and St Helier and I am looking forward to meeting them all in a room filled with love.”
Jacqueline Totterdell, Group Chief Executive, said: “I am so proud of the amazing contributions our incredible teams and individuals make to people’s lives. This will be our biggest-ever awards event and means staff who go above and beyond will be recognised and rewarded.”
Football commentator Martin Tyler who faced losing his voice was among the patients who have thrown their support behind the gesh CARE awards.
The 79-year-old underwent two operations and a course of speech therapy at St George’s which saved his career that has spanned five decades.
He said: “Without the dedicated teams at St George’s I would have lost my voice for good. I am so grateful for everything they have done.
“The care I received was exemplary and shows how valuable the NHS is to us all.”
Patients, their families and carers can nominate a team or individual at gesh to win the ‘Outstanding CARE of the Year Award’ to thank someone who has gone above and beyond to care for people in hospital or the Group’s community services. NHS staff can also nominate co-workers to celebrate achievements linked to the Group’s five-year CARE strategy to care for local people and keep them well.
All 17,000 members of staff working for the Group’s community and hospitals services are eligible for an award – from frontline clinicians to essential support teams, porters, cleaners and caterers.
Jan Ehtash spent 12 weeks in Epsom and St Helier hospitals after falling seriously ill with Covid-19, receiving care from a dedicated team of nurses, doctors, and other health professionals.
She said: “It’s thanks to the staff at Epsom and St Helier that I am here today, and I cannot thank them enough for saving my life and for being there when my family and I needed them the most.”
Nominations for this year’s gesh CARE awards must close at midnight, 24 October 2024 giving just 24 hours to put forward a team or individual to join the 400 nominations already received to celebrate the best of gesh.
The winners will be announced on 10 December at a special event generously sponsored by St George’s Hospital Charity, Epsom & St Helier Hospitals Charity and local businesses.
For further information on the gesh CARE awards and to nominate, please see visit here.
