5th October 2011

BRIDPORT: NHS staff honoured at awards ceremony

LOYAL NHS staff and volunteers, including those from Bridport Community Hospital, have been honoured at a glitzy awards ceremony.

The Dorset HealthCare University NHS Foundation Trust hosted its third annual staff award ceremony last month.

Among the winners were Bridport Hospital porter Keith Fursman and volunteer Marion Wrighton.

The awards are the local trust’s opportunity to recognise the contribution its staff and volunteers make to the provision of high quality, well-respected health services across Dorset.

Porter, Keith Fursman, was the joint winner of the ‘Unsung Hero’ award, praised for his dedication to maintaining the grounds of Bridport Community Hospital.

“For me, the greatest honour was being nominated by colleagues - I felt like a winner before receiving the award,” said keith.

“I was exceedingly happy and grateful and it was also humbling to think that others judge me as deserving of it.

“When I started at Bridport Hospital six years ago, the grounds were OK, but not inviting or welcoming for visitors, patients and staff.

“My wife and I decided to do something about it and we raised the funds for the plants ourselves.

“It would have been impossible to achieve what has been achieved without her.

“She has been a supportive partner throughout, so this award is for her as well.”

Marion Wrighton was a runner-up in the Volunteer of the Year category for her work at Bridport Community Hospital.

She said: “It was an honour to be nominated for the award, not just for me but for the hospital.

“With volunteering, it’s not about what you put in, but what you get back and it’s nice to feel appreciated by the nurses and patients at the hospital.”

Awards were presented across eight categories in total and the winners all received a commemorative glass trophy from Trust chairman, Jonathan Walsh, in front of several hundred staff, service users and members of the public at an event following the trust’s fifth Annual Members Meeting.

Mr Walsh said: “Our annual awards are one way of demonstrating our appreciation for our staff, their loyalty and their hard work.

“Their dedication to ensuring that the Trust’s services are of the highest quality and that service users and carers receive the best care possible is extremely valued.”

PICTURE 1: UNSUNG HERO - Keith Fursman praised his wife mary for her help in maintaining the Bridport Hospital grounds

PICTURE 2: VOLUNTEER OF THE YEAR - Jonathan Walsh (Chairman, Dorset HealthCare University NHS Foundation Trust), Marion Wrighton, Eileen Marks, Jean Hamdorff, Roger Browning (Chief Executive, Dorset HealthCare University NHS Foundation Trust)

BRIDPORT: NHS staff honoured at awards ceremony

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