Sherwood Forest Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust has celebrated staff excellence and the outstanding achievements of its staff at a special awards ceremony.

More than 340 exceptional individual and team entries from across the trust were congratulated on their achievements in 10 separate categories.

One team that stood out was the Emergency Assessment Unit (EAU), which won the team award in the Efficient And Safe category as well as the chairman’s team award for excellence.

They were recognised for their work to develop the service by integrating inpatient therapists and those working in the community, making working together more effective.

This more joined up service has had a positive impact on patient care and progression through the hospital and healthcare system.

That is reflected in the fact that Sherwood Forest Hospitals is among the top 30 of England’s 136 trusts offering an emergency department service for the four-hour target.

Figures show that for the three months to the end of September, the trust achieved the national target of seeing and treating 95% of urgent admissions within four hours.

Jayne Revill, EAU matron, said: “I’m so proud that we won not one, but two awards, it really is down to the hard work of the team that we have been able to implement a system that works so well.

“Many people put forward ideas on how we could improve things and I’m proud to say that many of the suggestions have been put into practice and we have vastly improved the service for our patients to ensure that they get the best possible care they need.”

Staff members nominated colleagues for eight of the awards, and members of the public voted for a special team or individual providing care above and beyond the call of duty in The People’s Award.

In addition, the Chairman’s Award recognised an exceptional and inspirational contribution to the trust by an individual and team.

Winners represented all levels of staff from consultants to housekeepers; acknowledging a wide range of achievements from the introduction of new policies and service improvements right through to the support provided by the trust’s army of volunteers.

Trust chairman Peter Marks said: “I was delighted to attend the awards. It made me very proud to know that we have so many excellent staff working here at Sherwood Forest Hospitals.

“he event alone made it quite clear how we have succeeded in making such significant improvements across the trust over the past year, and many of the areas commended by inspectors in our latest CQC report were reflected in the shortlisted entries.

“The quality of the applications was very high, and those shortlisted did extremely well.”