Within our Trust, one of our priorities is developing our colleagues with the aim of providing the best possible care to our patients and it is rewarding when that work is recognised.

Sisters Sue Collinson, Linda Marsh and Ros Burrell from the Heart Failure Nurses/Cardiac Rehabilitation Team at Royal Shrewsbury Hospital (RSH) have won a national You’re Simply Marvellous’ award after they were nominated by a patient and his wife.

The nomination thanked the team for bringing him back from the ‘absolute brink’, their patience, care, knowledge, positivity and for being there for them through this frightening time. The couple also thanked nurses in the RSH Emergency Department for saving his life.

It is so fantastic to see that the work of my colleagues has been recognised for making such a difference. Well done to you all!

Sponsored by the Pumping Marvellous Foundation, the “You’re Simply Marvellous” awards acknowledge the value that Health Care Professionals bring to the treatment of heart failure, improving patient outcomes throughout the UK.

It is so important that my colleagues can develop and progress in their careers.

This month we will welcome our newest Trainee Nursing Associates (TNAs) into the organisation.

These candidates, who have all been Healthcare Assistants (HCAs) within the Trust, will commence their apprenticeships with Chester University, based at their Shrewsbury Campus.

These roles are incredibly popular and offer a great alternative for those individuals who wish to ‘earn whilst they learn’ in a supportive learning environment.

Whilst on placement with us the TNAs will be supported by Practice Education Facilitators within the Pre-Registration Team, Ruth Field and Pam Williams, who have a lot of expertise in this area.

With the help of these programmes, we are hoping we can create a career pathway and encourage those in our community to join our Trust.

The lead nurse for Education and Pre-registration Practice Education Facilitator team has been providing a TNA programme since 2017. The dedication, commitment and passion to the programme along with close partnership working with our universities has led to the success of the TNA programme.

Since 2017, 69 HCAs have qualified as Nursing Associates and 19 of our Nursing Associates have followed a career pathway onto the Registered Nurse Degree Apprenticeship.

Due to the success of our TNA programme, I am delighted to say the team has recently been shortlisted, for the Nursing Times Student Nurse Awards – Nursing Associate Training Programme Provider of the Year (pre-registration).

Good luck to the team for the awards ceremony in April.

The views of our local communities are important to us and help us shape our services. We count on our Community Members for feedback, local knowledge and support.

We have over 3,000 Community Members, over 300 organisations, and we would like to invite anyone over 14 years old who lives within the local area to join us. Membership is free and is one of the ways we can keep our local communities informed and involved in our hospital services.

As a Community Member you will receive a free regular member’s newsletter (Get Involved) which will have information about the Trust, and all up-and-coming events and meetings that you can attend.

If you are interested in becoming a Community Member, which is on a voluntary basis, visit our website: www.sath.nhs.uk/about-us/get-involved/public-participations-2-become-a-member , email sath.engagement@nhs.net or phone 01743 492256.