STAFF at Whitchurch Community Hospital have received an award for going the extra mile in tackling Covid-19

The hospital's domestic team has won a Chair's Award, with the win being revealed at a virtual meeting held by Shropshire Community Health Trust (Shropcom).

Trust chairman Nuala O'Kane announced the award for the domestic team, who were presented with their award in recognition of their work following a Covid-19 outbreak at the hospital that impacted on a number of staff.

The team were nominated for the award by Angela Cook, head of nursing.

"The team rose to the challenge and deep cleaned all the ward areas in two hours flat," she said. "In fact if you had stayed still long enough you would have been disinfected.

"Their commitment to ensuring the environment was safe for patients and staff was exceptional and the ward team speak very highly of them and the work they did to support them that afternoon.

"Many of the housekeeping staff were due to go off duty but stayed on as a team to ensure the place was cleaning efficiently and as quickly as possible.

"They really pulled together as a team and went the extra mile and were an absolute credit to their service and profession."

Meanwhile, Ms O'Kane added: "When people talk about Covid-19 and the NHS, most people think about doctors and nurses working hard on the front line.

"But there are in fact hundreds of other people and job roles who have an equally important part to play in keeping on top of this pandemic.

"So I am really pleased that today we are recognising some of our less obvious NHS heroes.

"All the winners have shown they really embody the values of the NHS and Shropcom and I am immensely proud of them all.

"I would like to thank each one of them for the flexibility, initiative and commitment they have shown during this challenging time"

Anyone can nominate a member of staff or volunteer for a Chair's Award by emailing their details for consideration to shropcom.communications@nhs.net