Hospital trust given two prizes and runner-up recognition in national awards ceremony.

Staff at Barking, Havering and Redbridge University Hospitals NHS Trust have won the prizes at this year's Patient Experience Network National Awards held in Birmingham on Wednesday, March 20.

Nursing associate Alina Stevens, part of the Trust's Dementia team, was named Patient Advocate of the Year.

She was nominated after one patient named Betty, who was anxious about what to do with her sensory aids during surgery, was helped when Ms Stevens found a place to keep them and then, realising it would be an issue for many more people, designed and made her own box to keep items like glasses and hearing aids in, for the benefit of all patients.

Another prize was awarded to patient partner Sara Turle for her outstanding contribution to patient care.

She was a cancer patient herself nine years ago and has worked to improve patient experience for patients at Queen's and King George Hospital.

The trust's Specialist Palliative Care team was named a runner-up in the Integration and Continuation of Care category which recognised their collaborative work with nursing homes, helping to get elderly patients out of hospital quicker and improving the coordination of care.

The team was also shortlisted for the Personalisation of Care awards, due to Dennis' Den which is a private room for palliative care patients to spend time with their families and was named in the Turning it Around category, alongside our Mortuary and Oncology teams, for their work to provide dignified care after death.

The trust’s Collar and Brace Aftercare Service was also named a finalist.

In total, the trust was named a finalist in five categories at the awards.