Big-hearted A
Unsung hero win for hospital porter
A family’s thanks for giving an old soldier a ‘fitting send-off‘ helped hospital porter Alec Souter win the unsung hero award in the 2019 NHS Forth Valley staff awards.
The poignant story, from a family whose father died the following morning, told how Alec, a keen piper, had been entertaining patients in a corridor in Ward B21 at Forth Valley Royal Hospital.
When told that one patient, a former sergeant in the Scots Guards, had not long to live, he checked with staff that it was alright to continue playing. They spoke to the family who invited him into the patient’s room and asked him to continue playing by his bedside.
After a rendition of Heilan’ Laddie and Highland Cathedral, which the family say brought tears to their eyes, the two men saluted each other. This act of kindness represents just one of many displayed by Alec, who has also played at the wedding of a terminally-ill patient.
He regularly forfeits his work breaks to strike up a tune, and makes sure he is on duty on Christmas Day so the skirl of the pipes can spread an extra drop of festive cheer amongst those still in hospital.
Another personal kindness earned Theresa Connor, a senior charge nurse for learning disabilities in NHS Forth Valley, the Helen Kelly Award, a new accolade in memory of a former NHS Forth Valley director of human resources.
Theresa helped a 42-year-old man with aggressive cancer to fulfil an item on his ‘bucket list’ which was to sing in a choir. Theresa, a member of NHS ForthValley’s Nurses Choir, arranged for the patient to sing with the choir in the atrium of Forth Valley Royal Hospital in front of his friends and family – an event he described as one of the best experiences in his life.
The winner of the 2019 inspiration award was NHS Forth Valley community food development worker Wendy Handley for her outstanding work with people in prisons across Forth Valley.
A dietetics and nutrition professional, Wendy has supported nearly 200 prisoners to achieve a formal qualification through her programme of practical cooking skills, eating well on a budget and health and nutrition training. Examples of her approach include persuading a young man who did not like vegetables to try a red pepper, and demonstrating how to make a cottage pie which evoked memories of much-loved ‘grannies’ and helped prisoners to share their feelings.
NHS Forth Valley chairman, Alex Linkston, said: “The staff awards recognise the hard work, care and commitment of staff and volunteers across the organisation. I am delighted to say we received almost 400 entries this year, which is a great achievement and I’d like to thank everyone who took the time to submit a nomination.
“These awards are really important as they help demonstrate how much the efforts of our staff are really appreciated by colleagues and patients alike.”