Sheffield Children’s Healthcare Support Worker honoured with Chief Nursing Officer Award

A Healthcare Support Worker at Sheffield Children’s has been honoured with a Chief Nursing Officer (CNO) award for her commitment to displaying the NHS values on a daily basis.

When Healthcare Support Worker Natalie started her shift on Friday morning, she thought it was the beginning of an ordinary day. She greeted her team, patients, and their families, and started going about her daily tasks.

What Natalie didn’t know was that members of the Sheffield Children’s team had been planning to surprise her with the prestigious award that very afternoon, springing their surprise into action with the help of Chief Nurse Yvonne Millard and Nursing, Midwifery and AHP Workforce Lead at NHS England North East and Yorkshire Victoria Bagshaw.

Natalie said: “I was gobsmacked to receive the award! It all felt very surreal, and I was trying my best to process everything at the time. Everyone here works really hard towards the same goal, which is to achieve the best outcomes for the children and young people that we see.”

What is a CNO Award?

The chief nursing officer (CNO) and chief midwifery officer (CMidO) awards were initially developed to recognise the outstanding contributions made by nurses and midwives across the country. The awards now also recognise the contributions of healthcare support workers (HCSWs) and maternity support workers (MSWs) who demonstrate the NHS values every day.

Natalie’s Story

Natalie has worked as a Healthcare Support Worker at Sheffield Children’s almost a decade. She began her journey working alongside the Helena Specialist Nursing team, a multi-disciplinary community nursing team caring for children with complex, life-limiting neurological conditions and those who require continuing support.

Just over three years ago, Natalie decided to take on her current role on Ward 5 – the dedicated neurosciences ward at Sheffield Children’s Hospital. Here, alongside her amazing team, Natalie supports patients and families experiencing neurological conditions, who require neurosurgery or who have conditions affecting the brain and nervous system.

Natalie said: “In this role, I have my own patient workload. With the support of the team, I oversee their care and make sure that they have everything that they need for that day. I also assist nurses with their patients and contribute to the day-to-day running and management of the ward.”

As part of her role, Natalie is able to form connections with not only the children and young people that she cares for, but their entire family, delivering a bespoke and holistic care package for each family who walks through the doors.

Natalie said: “Many of our patients come to us after being involved in some form of accident and aren’t at that point able to do too much for themselves. They can be here for between 6 and 9 months so you’re really able to build up a relationship. When you see them do something that you’ve been working towards for several weeks, that sense achievement is great to be a part of.”

For Natalie, the act of delivering outstanding care for children and young people has been a passion from a very young age. Reflected throughout her career, Natalie has been able to build on this passion during her time at Sheffield Children’s.

Natalie said: “I’ve wanted to work with children and young people for almost as long as I can remember. Before joining the NHS, I worked in a nursery, so I’ve always known that working with children is my vocation. I’m able to use all of my experience from previous roles every day, and I have loved it since the beginning!”

Quickly after receiving her award, Natalie made the short journey across Sheffield Children’s Hospital to Ward 2 so that she could share her achievement with her mum, who also works as part of the Domestics Team.

Natalie said: “I couldn’t wait to tell my family. My mum works here so she was the first person that I told in-person and we shared a really lovely moment. I then instantly told my dad, stepmum and stepdad, who were also just so pleased too.”

Yvonne Millard, Chief Nurse at Sheffield Children’s, was present at the event and congratulated Natalie on her success: “We were filled with pride to hear that Natalie had won this award. It is a reflection of her incredible character and her dedication to demonstrating the values of the NHS. These awards give us a real opportunity to step back and recognise the amazing work that Healthcare Support Workers do across Sheffield Children’s and the NHS as a whole, which is incredibly important.”