Publish date: 3 October 2024
August's Employee of the Month winner is Mark Brown, Pain Management - Southport and Formby, nominated by Christopher Barker for the value of respect
It's hard to categorise as Mark has epitomised all CARES values. 'Respect' is highlighted here specifically. Mark works as a specialist physiotherapist in the Community Pain Service. His expertise exceeds his clinical knowledge; his ability to communicate constructively and with empathy allows him to find a way in often the most complex situations
This specific situation involved a patient who was distressed with persistent and worsening pain and was also deaf and communicated through sign. Mark established early what the person's hopes were, but also that helping develop a newer understanding of pain and skills in rehabilitation would be very complex through a translator. Mark worked flexibly, tuning into the person's way of working and quickly developed an effective therapeutic relationship. This required great effort & skill from Mark given the persons' poor experience in NHS previously, and the considerable task of helping to understand, promoting lifestyle change via translator.
Mark's patient had approximately five appointments and at the final one was so proud to show Mark the improvement in function, pain & confidence to move independently that he had newly found. This was a great example of person centred, collaborative working with someone who had severe and persistent pain, lost confidence and function but also communicated atypically. This type of work is challenging enough when communication is easy; Mark demonstrated great tenacity to not give up when things are difficult, but to modify approach and learn what fits best. It's hard not to be really impressed with Mark's ethos; it seems to exemplify all aspects of Mersey Care's values. The fact also that this isn't simply a great single example - Mark works in this way for all his patients. His work ethic, skill, and ethos have profoundly positive impact upon the team and patients we all work with.
August's Team of the Month winner is Sefton Safeguarding Children nominated by Kevin Redmond for the value of support
Sefton SGC Team acted as the direct interface for MCFT during the Southport Tragedy of July 2024. It was the Sefton SGC Nurses placed in Sefton Multi-agency Safeguarding Hub who received the initial police notification that there was a man in the community harming children- and remained the crucial health link and the multi-agency coordination of response as the tragedy unfolded and we saw the loss of life of 3 innocent children and countless injuries to many more. The Sefton SGC Nurses acted as the information feeders to Gold Command- ensuring the most senior leaders of the Trust were updated and informed as new information about the tragedy came in. The team also acted as the bridge between local authority, ICB, the national child death overview panel and even supported the coronial decision making around next steps to support the families. At a frontline level, the Sefton SGC Nurses were responsible for supporting the individual staff holding the children on their caseloads.
The reach of this one team- from the very top of the organisation, to frontline services and all of the multi-agency activity in between demonstrates the value of the service. This has been echoed in feedback to the Trust from ICB and Southport Council, who cite the vital role of the SGC Nurses in the effective coordination of a whole-systems response- to what at the time was the most significant event in UK. This can easily be overlooked by the fact that the team are a corporate service and unless directly involved, you would not know the extent that these nurses went to in support of the Trust and wider system partners. All in the context of living in Southport, with their own children at home in the same community, where the tragedy was taking place. These staff did not waiver and remained steadfast in their commitment to ensure process and arrangements were in place to uphold the dignity of the children, the understanding of the Trust & multiagency and support for clinicians.