Operations Manager Helen Jones was surprised by the Chief Exec Owen with our latest Star Award  to say the least - so surprised she burst into  happy tears.

At first she was baffled as to why Owen and all her team gathered together with a bunch of flowers at the ready. 

Owen, said: “I am here to present this Star Award to you today because you dealt with a complaint raised from an individual, who believed his father wasn’t receiving the best care. But you handled the issue with utter compassion and care, and this department and I can’t thank you enough, well done.”  

Everyone filled  up at his words and Helen hugged him while he handed over her certificate.

Helen was the investigating officer for a complaint raised with PALS within the Emergency Department at HRI regarding the care of a 92 year old man. The  man's son felt that his father’s experience within the hospital was not a good one, due to a lack of effective communication across all parties and he felt his voice wasn’t heard.

Enter Helen! She handled this issue by taking time to listen to the patient’s story, setting time lines she delivered on and apologising for the unfortunate experience.

The son wrote in saying: “I felt compassion, concern and that she truly cared about the experience of people attending the ED. Helen apologised for our experience and took the time to listen to my father’s patient story.”

Helen, said: “I work with such an amazing team, that I am so proud to be a part of. A&E is such an important department to work in and we all pull together and support one another. Feels great to be recognised for my hard work.”

Caroline Smith, Helen’s Star Award nominator,s aid:  “I feel that the feedback the complainant has provided demonstrates that Helen lives and breathes the 'four pillars' to ensure that our patients have a positive experience wherever possible and will work tirelessly to learn from and improve care going forward, when concerns and complaints are raised by our patients and carers.”