Employee recognition and the LGT Star Awards
Colleague awards are an important part of life at our Trust. Throughout the year, we ask staff, patients and their loved ones to nominate teams or individuals that work at our Trust for providing:
- Brilliant care to patients and supporting their loved one
- Fantastic work behind the scenes in our support services
- Going the extra mile for their colleagues or other teams.
In this way, we can collectively congratulate our co-workers for the fantastic work they do. Every month we select an individual or team to be our Employee(s) of the Month.
Help us reward great care
Previously known as the 'Healthcare Hero' award, the Stardust Award is nominated for by grateful members of the public who have been positively impacted by the care or service we provide them. If you or someone you know has received exceptional care, support, or assistance from a member or members of staff working within the Lewisham and Greenwich NHS Trust, you have the opportunity to express your appreciation by nominating them for this esteemed award.
You can nominate our colleagues here via the short, easy to use nomination form.
Your part in collecting these amazing stories of exceptional care and rewarding those colleagues who have gone the extra mile is much appreciated.
Share your story
We love to share stories about great care in our Trust publications and online. These stories about the difference our healthcare has made to people’s lives, really help our staff to feel appreciated and be proud of their hard work.
If you would be happy to share a few more details about your positive experience and for your story to be shared, please email us on lg.communications@nhs.net and put positive story in the subject line.
Annual LGT Star Awards
In addition to our Employee of the Month programme, we also run the annual LGT Star Awards. We celebrate the outstanding work of our colleagues and share inspiring stories of great care and teamwork from all around the Trust.
Star Awards 2024 winners
Star Partner winners: the LGT Security Team
Why: Ensuring our safety and above and beyond in their roles. This might look like comfort to distressed individuals, or a friendly chat with a regular visitor. But the team do even more beyond their regular duties: they have conducted safety drills, violence and aggression workshops and awareness campaigns within the hospitals, educating colleagues and visitors.
Highly commended: Alice Cornwell, RHS
Star Volunteer winner: Sharon Chambers, Volunteer, UHL
Why: Across Emergency Department, the Physiotherapy Department and supporting the Wellbeing Team, Sharon has given us more than 800 hours of volunteering work at time of nomination – a whopping total for which we are so thankful.
All hail our Queen of the Wellbeing Trolley!
Highly commended: Betsy Gorman
LGT Charity Star winners: Louisa Mayfield and Shannon Willis, Neonatal Nursery Nurse and Discharge Planning Co-ordinator / Neonatal Unit Clerk, NICU, QEH
Why: Louisa and Shannon have been fantastic champions for the Trust Charity, helping to raise almost £4,000 to date by organising fundraising events and initiatives. We are truly grateful to Louisa and Shannon for all their brilliant efforts to improve the experience of the parents, carers and siblings of our youngest patients at QEH's NICU.
Highly commended: UHL and Community Podiatry team
Chief Operating Officer's Excellence in Admin winner: Sathya Mithiradaas, IT Technician, UHL
Why: Those of us who have put in many a panicked call to Sathya know exactly why he’s been chosen by Chief Operating Officer Miranda Jenkins for this showcase of behind-the-scenes heroes! Whether it’s a new bit of kit you need or you've had a total tech breakdown, Sathya handles his business in a calm, super-friendly and timely fashion. A deserved first winner of this new award!
Highly commended: Medical Records Relocation Project team, QEH
Rising Star winner: Nicky Tanner, Adult Safeguarding Advisor, UHL
Why: Nicky brings exceptional dedication and unique flair to his role as an Adult Safeguarding Advisor for UHL. Although he joined the team less than a year ago, Nicky has quickly become a standout – bringing with him what his nominator, Frankie Campbell, describes as “warmth and enthusiasm. Nicky's vibrant personality shines through in everything he does. A true advocate for our most vulnerable patients at LGT.
Highly commended: Jeffery Aigbovo, Flow Navigator, Chestnut Ward, UHL
Star Player winner: Liz Ware, Specialist Bereavement Midwife, QEH
Why: The support Liz Ware gives to those who have suffered the loss of a child is difficult to put into words – Liz’s nominator, QEH Head of Midwifery Sophie Russell, says as much: “Where do I start with this nomination? Even writing this down makes me feel so proud that we have a midwife like Liz; if you know Liz you will know just how special she is. Liz’s boundless dedication, advocacy and compassion Liz embodies our Trust Values and then some.
Highly commended: Kellie Hodge, Healthcare Assistant, Ward 19, QEH
Chief Nurse's Compassion in Care winner: Gloria Mensah-Sombay, Senior Staff Nurse, Chestnut Ward, UHL
Why: Gloria was nominated for her dedication to enhancing patient care on Chestnut Ward, particularly through her leadership in the “Compassion in Care” program – which promotes empathy and respect for patients – as well as her commitment to quality improvement, her day-to-day skills and her support for all of her ward colleagues.
Highly commended: Sally Perrott, Therapy Assistant Practitioner, Adult Physiotherapy, QEH
All Stars Team winners: Community Children's Asthma and Atopy team
Why: This team has been working so hard in 2024 – from a popup stand at Lewisham Shopping Centre for the #AskAboutAsthma campaign (gaining coverage in local papers) to launching the national Asthma Friendly Schools campaign, securing support from seven Lewisham schools to become accredited. They also established an eczema service for 0 to 5 year-olds, providing great advice on managing that condition.
Highly commended: Frailty Same Day Emergency Care (SDEC) team, QEH
Stardust winners: Dermatology Nurses UHL
Why: This category's nominations were based on messages from patients and their loved ones who have been positively impacted by care provided. Jacqueline, a nominator, was diagnosed with nodular prurigo, a condition that caused itchy, raised skin areas. Desperate, Jacqueline sought help from the UHL Dermatology Unit. The nurses' kindness and support helped her through a dreadful period, leading to her receiving fortnightly injections and a better quality of life.
Highly commended: Dr Charles Mazhude, Consultant in Genitourinary Medicine, Alexis Clinic, UHL
Chief Medical Officer's Internal Professional Standards winners: Dr Hugh Leonard and Dr Izu Chukwulobelu
Why: Dr Izu was singled out for praise for his brilliant personal qualities and how he applies them to his role. His diligence and level of engagement leads to him regularly working above his level of training. Dr Hugh consistently demonstrates exceptional dedication and professionalism when he is on call. He described as a pleasure to work with – his commitment to teamwork and patient-centred care is highly appreciated by everyone around him.
Highly commended: Dr Chris Foster, Consultant, QEH
Why: With an astonishing 30 years and counting working for TeamLGT, Jo got nominated a staggering seven times by her colleagues and in those nominations, some words come up again and again: Jo is the “engine”, the “glue”, the “backbone” and the “background hero” of UHL’s busy Anaesthetics department. In her rota role, Jo has a track-record of brilliantly maximising the people, time and resources in the department while still being “universally loved” and “[representing] the human and humane face of the Trust’s aspiration to excellence.” Jo’s approach to work is of course so vital for colleague wellbeing, but also for keeping our surgery lists solid and delivering them reliably for our patients.
Highly commended: Siggy Robson, Senior Speech and Language Therapist and Stroke Lead, UHL
Dr Hamid Zafar: Guiding Star winner and our LGT Megastar! ED Consultant, QEH
Why: He is a fantastic clinician working in our busy QEH ED, but he’s seen as a Guiding Star for reasons that go beyond those responsibilities - rather ones that speak to his astonishing level of support for our International Medical Graduates (or IMGs). From making himself available at unsociable hours to field questions from different time zones to organising away days so that our IMGs can take a seaside breather in Brighton, Dr Zafar’s commitment to making all his IMG charges feel welcomed, supported and in a position to thrive is simply “the epitome of what this role looks like.” That, plus his amazing 41 nominations, is the reason why he was also named as this year's Megastar too!
Guiding Star Award - Highly commended: Asheema Ailah Alvarez, Ward Manager, Ward 25, QEH