Thank You Event 2024: Colleague of the Year - Winner
Every year we celebrate our amazing staff and their achievements at our Thank You ceremony. Board members will surprise colleagues at their bases and present them with a hamper, balloons and a certificate for being shining examples of our magnificent staff behaviours.
Colleague of the Year – Winner
Claire Thornton (Community Matron, Morley Neighbourhood Services)
Claire’s dedication and commitment to the neighbourhood team and the wider primary care organisation makes her the perfect recipient of Colleague of the Year. Claire works across the neighbourhood team and primary care network, as a community matron in the neighbourhood, and care home matron within the integrated care homes service. She is widely respected across both teams and by the social care colleagues.
Claire has been instrumental in developing a new service, which works across organisational boundaries, and has made the strengths and impact of the community nursing role visible.
Sue Parker, Community Matron nominated Claire and added, “As a clinician she always supports patients and families, passionately championing the right to equal access to care and challenging traditional ways of working to ensure a patient’s preferred place of care can be achieved. Claire is committed to community care and to continuing to develop her own skills and knowledge. Her zest and enthusiasm are tangible and inspires colleagues to value each other and the work we do every day."
As a mentor, she is inspirational and nurturing and ensures students have a positive learning experience. Having worked in a variety of community nursing roles, she has a wealth of experience and knowledge that she is always willing to share. Claire is approachable, and never judgemental, she is a source of clinical expertise but also emotional support and will often diffuse a stressful situation with a calming influence.
As an individual, she is supportive, professional, and compassionate and radiates a passion for community care which embraces us all. As a colleague, she is resilient and an influential leader and role model, always leading by example. She is open and honest and will always try to find a creative solution to a problem and support the team to think outside of the box.
In recent challenging times she has remained positive, flexible and committed to new ways of working. She meets challenges with a positive can-do attitude and an enthusiasm to collaborate with the members of the whole community team to deliver excellent care.
As an advanced practitioner, she has demonstrated her ability to support patients with complex needs to be cared for in the community and has been creative and resourceful in managing this. Through her practice, more patients have remained in the care home as their preferred place of care.
“In recent weeks, Claire supported the team to enable a patient with complex palliative care needs to remain in his care home. She demonstrated leadership and was accountable for the decisions she made and worked collaboratively to provide support to the patient and was family centred in her approach. Claire supported the teams involved, exploring their concerns, acknowledging the difficulties and working towards a positive outcome. The gentleman passed away peacefully at home, and I have had feedback from all involved acknowledging how effective and calming she was in such a demanding situation. The family feedback was positive, and all staff reported how supported they felt.”
Jenny Allen, Director of Workforce surprised Claire at Morley Health Centre with her award.
