The facilities and procurement team at County Durham & Darlington NHS Foundation Trust triumphed at the recent annual National Health Estates and Facilities Management Association (HEFMA) awards.
Under the management of Alison McCree, the team were named winners in both the Efficiency & Improvement and Team of the Year categories. Alison was also named Leader of the Year at the awards ceremony, held in the Cotswolds.
Explaining their decisions, the judges described the team as taking, “Great pride in delivering a number of service improvements for patients, visitors & staff.” They singled out the introduction of an electronic patient meal ordering system.
Alison was described by the judges as having, “A clear vision for the delivery of services and beliefs and has demonstrated that it is essential to support, develop and nurture staff as they are the most significant and precious resource, as well as the key to safer, better and more reliable care for patients.”
Commenting, Alison said, “It was a tremendous evening and we were delighted to receive three of the top awards – especially in the face of very tough competition.
There are 650 members of our team who are largely based behind the scenes in support roles including porters, domestics, drivers, caterers, telephonists, purchasing and logistics staff, sterile services technicians, medical engineers and estates staff.
Their skills and commitment are an essential part of delivering a safe clean environment to underpin excellent patient care in the right place at the right time. Each of these awards reflects the work done by the whole team.
