Oxleas Nursing Conference is virtually brilliant!
Our 19th Oxleas Nursing Conference was a roller coaster of emotions with tears and laughter, culminating in the announcement of our Nurse and Healthcare Support Worker of the Year 2022.
Huge congratulations to Misheck Saineti from Scadbury Ward, who was named as our Nurse of the Year and to Mary Obadumi, our Healthcare Support Worker of the Year.
The event was held virtually on Friday 10 June and was opened by our Chair, Andy Trotter. He said: “Celebrating nursing is exactly what we should be doing today. During the pandemic, you were there for us all, in the most challenging of circumstances, with compassion and professionalism that you continued to display in the most testing of times.
“We know we continue to face lots of challenges – but the spirit and passion of our nurses shines through and I am enormously proud of you all and the service you provide.”
Director of Nursing, Jane Wells, welcomed colleagues to the event, and said: “Every year I see our nurses grow from strength to strength providing the most compassionate of care. But we must remember to be kind to ourselves – for us to look after people we need to look after ourselves first.”
As well as presentations from each of our nursing disciplines, there were shout outs to those nurses who are at the forefront and championing our BAFO work to make Oxleas a great place to work; Julie Onyegbula for her sterling work as our first responsible clinician nurse; Dean Grace-Hicks for his work at HMP Wandsworth; John Owiti for his global partnership work and Latoya Martin for supporting our BAME nurses into leadership roles across the SLP.
Mention was also made of our award-winning nurses – Steve Hardy, who is nominated for two national learning disability awards and Jesca Gudsca, named as a Royal College of Nursing Rising Star for 2021 and Shanice Enoe, Good Governance Rising Star runner up from 2021.
A moment was also taken to remember those no longer with us. Maria Tanner, who gave many years of service to children’s nursing, passed away last year and is greatly missed still by colleagues.
Jane added: “All of our nurses and heathcare support workers do their absolute best every single day and it is that we should celebrate today.”
Nurse of the Year
Congratulations to Misheck Saineti from Scadbury Ward, who was named as our Nurse of the Year for going above and beyond with patients.
Misheck was nominated for always ensuring time is taken to listen to the concerns of the patients and for going the extra mile to ensure their needs are met.
Misheck is a supporting and responsive colleague, earning huge respect from across the team and working tirelessly to ensure trust policies are adhered to, encouraging and motivating patients and staff and helping to build a strong team spirit on the ward.
Runner up: Suraj Persand from HMP Belmarsh
Suraj’s nominations recognises his dedication to prisoner care, exceptional management skills and clear dedication to their role. His work has really helped to transform mental health services at HMP Belmarsh, going above and beyond with both staff and prisoners, demonstrating clear trust values, showing clear compassion and empathy, taking time to listed and support those around him.
Healthcare Support Worker of the Year
Congratulations to Mary Obadumi who was named as our Healthcare Support Worker of the year for her effective care and support of a young patient.
Mary used her skills and experience to identify any issues which ultimately led to a positive change to the child in question. This display of good practise saw Mary act as a role model for the team and ensured her colleagues recognise good practise and are now able to reflect this within their own roles.
Runner up: Rebecca Barter, Paediatric Continence Advisor, Greenwich
Rebecca was recognised for her constant display of trust values, showing the ability to be kind and caring. She takes time to listen to patients and their families, going above and beyond within her role, and ultimately letting their skills in continence and dedication for their job shine through in all they do.
Nursing Associate Award: Memzie Duncan, Green Parks House
Our Nursing Associate award is new for Oxleas and we hope to see lots of nominations in future years for this invaluable nursing team member.
Memzie was nominated for demonstrating natural leadership, resilience and ambition, and is deserving of this award for not only their hard work and wealth of physical health knowledge, but also for compassion shown towards patients on the ward, and the relationship and respect built within the team.
Practice Assessor Award: Sarah Amodu, HMP Rochester
Sarah is deserving of this award through her work to support a student nurse on placement with the Mental Health In-reach Team at HMP Rochester. She demonstrated high levels of professionalism and compassion and was proactive in putting in support for her student to ensure their placement could continue successfully.
Clinical Placement Award: Bexley ICMP
The work of this team deserves special recognition. They have worked tirelessly to support student nurse clinical placements, collectively finding creative solutions to make student placements a success. This has all been done, despite staff shortages and recruitment issues, proving they really are deserving of this award.
Team Award: Young Greenwich Schools
This team proved they are deserving of this award through their ability to adapt and mobilise quickly to give thousands of COVID-19 vaccinations to schools across Greenwich. They did so with care and compassion ensuring a potentially worrying and nervous experience for children was in fact a positive one for each and every child.
Runner up: CAMHS Crisis Team
Recognition should be given to this team who provided excellent service to children and young people throughout the pandemic, despite the increase in case load and complexity of cases across the service.
