CSS News

Celebrating Excellence Across CSS — August

Every single month, we’re reminded just how much heart there is in Clinical and Scientific Services. August’s nominations are no exception — story after story of colleagues showing up for patients, for families, and for each other, often at moments when it mattered most. Here are just some of the highlights.

Supporting families through the most difficult moments

At NMGH ICU, Callum Wood showed extraordinary compassion and communication while caring for a critically ill young patient with a terminal prognosis. During an incredibly difficult family meeting, Callum supported the patient’s parents with kindness, integrity and empathy — bringing comfort to a family in the darkest of moments.

In AICU at Wythenshawe, Laura Fox showed outstanding leadership and compassion during a rapidly evolving emergency. Realising a patient may not survive an urgent intubation, she acted fast to make sure they could see their family beforehand — proof that even in the most urgent clinical moments, the human need comes first.

Going above and beyond for patient care

At ORC Pharmacy, Alisha Ibrahim stayed on well beyond the end of her shift to help facilitate urgent overnight chemotherapy treatment. Thanks to her dedication, time-critical treatment was delivered safely and without delay.

Driving innovation that improves patient outcomes

In Laboratory Medicine, Shane Doughty led the implementation of a dedicated TEG6 service for children at RMCH — giving clinical teams rapid, vital information during major trauma cases, when every single minute counts. This is exactly the kind of innovation that saves lives.

Meanwhile, the Cytology team at ORC — David Ashton, Afroza Adam, Kerry Whiting, Inca Noblett and Noreen Akhtar — pulled together to expedite an urgent diagnostic sample, enabling rapid diagnosis and allowing treatment planning to move forward without delay. A brilliant example of teamwork under pressure.

Exceptional teamwork in action

In Physiotherapy at NMGH, Agata Pietrzak, Josefine Loofe and Jacqueline O’Gorman responded calmly and quickly when a patient became unwell in reception. Their coordinated, compassionate response helped ensure that patient received safe and timely care.

Calm under pressure

While we’re celebrating our physio team, we also want to give a huge shout-out to Shaun Fradley, who kept his cool through multiple back-to-back traumas, including tubed patients. Staying calm, easily contactable and getting every patient through their scans without delay, Shaun makes ED a safer, more efficient place — and that makes a real difference to trauma patients when it matters most. Thank you, Shaun!

Highly commended

So many other nominations came incredibly close to this month’s shortlist, and every one deserves a mention:

• Amy Bell, for supporting a distressed patient through skilled communication and de-escalation
• Musa Erhumuserin, for building trust and rapport with a challenging patient, contributing positively to their recovery
• O’Baird Haider, for staying beyond his shift to safely transfer a seriously injured trauma patient
• Kimberley Anderson, for improving quality and training across community glucose monitoring services
• Okechukwu Onwukwe, for remaining overnight to ensure patient biopsies were processed following an equipment failure
• Bushra Raza and colleagues, for securing urgent HIV medication for a patient at risk of running out of treatment

Thank you

To everyone named here, and everyone nominated this month: thank you. Your dedication, compassion and professionalism continue to make a real and lasting difference to patients and families right across Greater Manchester.

We are so lucky to have you. 💙

Best wishes,

Charlotte Skiterall

Group Chief Pharmacist