Lancashire Teaching Hospitals’ Internationally Educated Colleagues were recognised at a special celebration day last week, to thank them for the contributions and sacrifices they have made whilst working for the Trust.
The event, which was held at Royal Preston Hospital, saw colleagues - all recruited from outside of Great Britain - receive awards to recognise their hard work and commitment to the Trust, as well as presentations speaking about personal experiences, and a marketplace for community events and support.
Following on from a successful inaugural celebration last year, the event was opened by International Pastoral Support Officer Lauryn Guest, who thanked colleagues for their contributions to Lancashire Teaching Hospitals. Also in attendance was Trust Chief Executive, Silas Nicholls, Deputy Chief Nurse, Catherine Gregory, and Chief Strategy and Planning Officer, Gary Doherty.
At the event, Lauren said: “I’d like to thank our Internationally Educated Colleagues for their contributions to working within Lancashire Teaching Hospitals. We have over 750 working within our nursing, midwifery and AHP teams, and we acknowledge the sacrifices they have made – leaving family, learning new cultures, a way of living, and integrating into the community.
“Celebration day is our way of showing our appreciation for joining our Trust and recognising the great work they bring to the organisation.”
Following the opening ceremony, attendees heard a presentation on Allied Health Professional International Recruitment Insight, as Michael Flome, Akinkunmi Omotoso and Aruna Midiyanselage, from Core Therapies, spoke of their experiences of joining the Trust from Ghana, Nigeria and Sri Lanka respectively, before the awards were handed out by Silas, Catherine and Gary, with all winners receiving a certificate.
A marketplace was held after the awards, with mental health and wellbeing support from Red Rose, while Sahara Preston signposted to community events and support, along with City International Church. Internal teams were also on hand from Recruitment, Temporary Staffing, EDI, Health and Wellbeing, Leadership and Library Services.
Chief Executive, Silas Nicholls, added: “It was a pleasure to be asked to attend the Internationally Educated Colleagues Celebration Day 2024 and have the honour of handing out some of the awards to the winners.
“A particular highlight was the presentation from Michael, Akinkunmi and Aruna, and it is great to see the impression they and the many other Internationally Educated Colleagues have made at the Trust.”
The winners were as follows:
Caring and Compassionate award
Aiswarya Shibu – ICU
Team Player
Neenu Mathew – Cuerden Ward
High Flyer
Michael Flome – Core Therapies
Michael said: “I’m really honoured to win this award, first of all I want to dedicate it to the therapy team, everyone has been so supportive since I came into the Trust, and I’m excited by the award. It’s recognition of the hard work that we have put in place, personally and the whole team as well. So thank you everyone for the recognition, I really appreciate it.”
All Smiles
Uche Eguabor – Discharge Lounge
Going above & beyond
Mercedes Salvilla – Ward 12
People’s Choice
Garvia Hibbert-Wallace – Midwifery
Garvia said: “I feel so happy to be considered and to win the award, I’ve been going through a tragic time, and it’s a tribute - I’m doing this for my late beloved husband. I’ve gone through my problems here and done more than a year, so my problems are behind me, I’m just comfortable and getting better every day, and the Trust have been a great help to me.”
Team Award
Professional Development Team
Judge’s Choice
Akinkunmi Omotoso – Core Therapies
