Welcome chance to recognise true stars

The travails of NHS Tayside have, sadly, barely been out of the headlines in recent weeks and months. A raft of financial issues have come to light, resulting in some high profile departures and the kind of press the vast majority of staff do not deserve to see.

Even today, there is yet more pressure being heaped upon Health Secretary Shona Robison amid claims she has proved herself unable to get a grip of the problems.

It is , of course, right and proper to scrutinise the health board and ensure every penny of public money is spent in the best interests of patients and service users.

However, it is also important to remember the huge amount of good work that is carried out day in, day out by NHS staff.

In most instances these people are not involved in budgets and bureaucracy, rather the care of local people in their hour of need.

And there can be no doubt the vast majority of these “ordinary” staff members are actually doing an extraordinary job.

No matter the pressure, they repeatedly go the extra mile in a bid to provide excellent patient care.

Many of those loyal employees were recognised last night at the NHS Tayside Staff Appreciation and Recognition (STAR) awards.

We are happy to extend our congratulations to all the worthy nominees and category winners.