Award for Shropshire booking clerk who ensured Covid was no barrier to care
An inpatient booking clerk who helped a patient from the Isle of Man to navigate the Covid rules and travel to Shropshire’s orthopaedic hospital has been named the latest Health Hero Award winner.
Elise Powell, who works in the access department at The Robert Jones and Agnes Hunt Orthopaedic Hospital, was able to ensure the patient could attend their pre-surgery appointment – an important step on their road to recovery.
She is the latest member of staff to receive the monthly accolade after she was nominated by Alyson Jordan, head of patient access services.
The Health Hero Award is presented to staff across RJAH every month who go above and beyond for patients and colleagues.
Alyson said: “Elise went above and beyond to help a patient from the Isle of Man come to RJAH for their pre-operative assessment prior to surgery.
“She spent countless hours navigating complex Covid rules to ensure the patient could be treated ready for their surgery.
"This included contacting airlines, providing all the necessary documentation and speaking regularly with pre-op.
“The easiest thing would have been to say no to the patient, but Elise spent hours sorting this patient’s care and throughout I saw her calm persistence. We are very lucky to have such dedicated staff working in the access team.”
Keepsake
Elise was presented her award – including a special certificate, keepsake badge and box of chocolates donated by the League of Friends – from Mark Brandreth, chief executive at the Oswestry-based hospital.
She said: “I was shocked and amazed when I realised the Health Hero Award was being handed to me.
"I never felt like I was going above and beyond but simply was just doing my job to make the patient's experience as smooth as possible.
“Thank you to Alyson for nominating me. It has been a tough time for everyone within the NHS over the past 12 months but I enjoy being a part of such an amazing team.”
Mark said: “Elise really went above and beyond to ensure the patient had the most seamless experience possible.
“The access department are the perfect example of a team that work extremely hard in the background to ensure our day-to-day running goes as smoothly as possible.
“I am delighted to present Elise with this month’s Health Hero Award.”
