Gateshead Health staff receive special Chief Nursing Officer for England awards

Staff members have been awarded the prestigious Chief Nursing Officer awards for their remarkable service to the NHS.

The critical care department, Kate Jones and Marceline Ndam were presented with their awards by Margaret Kitchin, North East and Yorkshire Regional Chief Nurse.

The critical care team identified innovative changes to practice that positively influences culture leadership and the retention of staff through undertaking a detailed workforce analysis to change the skill mix of the team and by implementing a daily debrief into critical care.

Critical care team awarded the Chief Nursing Officer award
Critical care team awarded the Chief Nursing Officer award

Gary Simpson, deputy charge nurse said, “On behalf of myself and the team we’re delighted to be given this award. The work that we’ve done gives staff an opportunity to see how they’re managing their work within critical care and hopefully provides a better patient experience. We have a fantastic team in critical care, and we’ve hopefully led these projects well.”
As part of the award ceremony, the critical care team were the first team to be awarded the gold award for the Care Quality Accreditation.

Kate, Assistant Director of Quality, who has now left the Trust, implemented a new Family Liaison Officer role to improve the way that patients and families are involved and supported through the investigation process following the occurrence of patient safety incidents, a service which has now supported over 50 people over the last 3 and a half years.

On accepting the award, she said “I would like to say a huge thank you to Wendy McFadden, who is the Strategic Lead for Clinical Effectiveness; she was and remains a huge part of this initiative, so this award is equally hers. Also, a big thank you to everyone who has stepped up to be trained as a Family Liaison Officer, we know from speaking to our patients and families that this is the right thing to do and as a result they feel valued and heard at what is often a very stressful time.”

Kate Jones being awarded with the Chief Nursing Officer award

Marceline, clinical educator working with the international recruitment team, has been instrumental in developing our BAME staff network. She has embarked on a programme of self-development, including accessing leadership development opportunities specifically aimed at supporting new BAME leaders, as well as practical development such as learning how to be an effective network Chair.

Marceline said, “I’m really delighted to win this award and I want to thank network members who have supported me throughout this journey as well as the whole trust.”

Marceline Ndam awarded the chief nursing officer award


Gill Findley, chief nurse and professional lead for midwifery and AHPs said, “I’m proud of Kate, Marceline and the critical care team and the work they have done. They go above and beyond in their roles and we’re extremely proud of them and all of our teams here at Gateshead.”