Slough angels dedicated to staff | NHS Frimley Health Foundation Trust

Tuesday 1 December 2020

A giant light angel

Twelve giant Angels have been installed in Slough town centre to honour the hardworking staff at nearby Wexham Park Hospital.

The special Christmas light sculptures pay tribute to the hospital’s ‘unsung heroes’ and are named after 12 individuals from different departments across Wexham Park.

The staff were nominated by their managers for the dedication and commitment shown during the last eight months. From a housekeeper in the Intensive Care Unit, to a physiotherapist, a pharmacy worker and security staff - alongside their colleagues they worked tirelessly during the busiest period in the hospital’s history.

The trail of 12 illuminated angels will be placed in and around Slough high street, each dedicated to an individual staff member. The display will be unveiled in a virtual ceremony on Facebook Live on Wednesday 18 November at 4pm, ahead of the town’s Christmas lights switch on.

Neil Dardis, chief executive, Frimley Health NHS Foundation Trust said: “We want to say a huge thank you to Slough BID and the local community. This is a wonderful gesture – for Wexham Park staff and the thousands of people who work in other Frimley Health hospitals and community services. It is a challenging time for all of our staff and to have their hard work recognised is a great honour. We hope the people of Slough have a safe Christmas and enjoy the angel trail, even if it’s virtually from the comfort of their homes.”

The angel trail will mark a special 12 days of Christmas campaign, which will be launched by Slough BID in conjunction with several local businesses. The campaign will give locals the opportunity to win different prizes each day by participating in competitions on social media.

A spokesperson for Slough BID said: “Covid has been the main focus of 2020 and as Christmas looks very different this year we wanted to make Slough a little bit brighter to celebrate the festive season. Our local communities are extremely grateful to NHS staff and their enormous efforts working during the pandemic. The angels are a fitting tribute to symbolise our gratitude to everyone at Wexham Park Hospital and to invoke the true spirit of Christmas for local residents.”

Katharine Lee - Pharmacist

During Covid Katherine worked closely with the ITU team and pharmacy operational team to monitor supplies and ensure medications were readily available to prevent any impact on patient care. She also helped to train and lead a pharmacy team to provide pharmaceutical services on each ITU unit, to promote safety and the effective use of medications.

“It was a challenging time with many obstacles. However, it was a valuable experience and has made me more confident and ready for future challenges. It’s an honour to have been nominated, but I really couldn’t have done it without my pharmacy and ITU colleagues.”
Margaret Hammond - Inpatient feeding team

Margaret works in catering and is one of the patient feeding supervisors for the hosts who serve the meals. “My role during Covid was to make sure patients were properly fed and also to support staff during the uncertainty of the pandemic. There have been dark times, particularly in the early stages as we didn’t know what we were dealing with. I have worked for the NHS for more than 40 years. I feel very humbled to have my name on one of the angels and am proud of the work of my colleagues and what we achieved during Covid.”
Joanna Slade - Dietician

During the last 9 months working during the pandemic, Joanna continued to cover the Children’s and Neonatal ward while taking on additional patients on our intensive care unit.

“We had many changes to our staff team during Covid so I made a conscious effort to ensure staff were taking good care of themselves and arranged some events to support staff wellbeing. Having an angel named after me is an incredibly sweet gesture. I don’t do my job to get recognised but the continued support and appreciation of the NHS I’ve seen this year has been really special.”
Security team

Hassan Bilal, Security Manager: The security team at Wexham Park worked around the clock during Covid keeping the premises and everyone at the hospital safe at all times.

“Hearing that the team will be named on one of the angels is such an honour, it’s made all our security staff feel very valued.”

Security team:

Hassan Bilal
Mudasar Nawaz
Cherge Mohamed
Noel Royeca
Ghani Farzoq
Reda Chennoufi
Nelson Figueria - Porter

In one of the hospital’s busiest departments, Nelson worked night shifts as a porter during Covid, transferring patients to wards and transporting samples to the lab.

“Working during Covid has been stressful and scary at times but the whole team pulled together to help each other. I was really pleasantly surprised for the angel name nomination – I only do my job, same as my colleagues, but it is a great feeling being recognised.”
Physiotherapy team

Charlotte Payne, Site Lead Physio, Physiotherapy team WPH: The entire team has been nominated for their work during covid, providing 24/7 rehab to patients to optimise their function and minimise their time in hospital.

Charlotte said: “It has been such a challenging time, particularly as it has gone on for so long. It can be overwhelming treating something so new and we did everything possible to provide the best clinical care.”

“It is amazing to have the team named on one of the angels. It feels such an honour to be part of a fantastic and hardworking team. It is truly wonderful for this to be recognised by the local community in such a special way.”

Physiotherapy team:

Kamila Gen
Sharine Balicanta
Kelly Austin
Graeme Bartlett
Elpida Panayi
Helen Green
Iram Khan
Scott Brady
Sally Jones
Daniel Simpson
Chelsea Calvert
Ella Holgate
Manveer Nagra
Sarah Milligan - Wellbeing lead

Sarah was one of the driving forces behind developing and providing a wellbeing and psychological support service for staff across the Trust. During Covid, Sarah managed a team of volunteer therapists and a 24/7 telephone counselling support line.

“It has been humbling to witness our staff and their incredible hard work and willingness to serve. The wellbeing support wouldn’t have been possible without the amazing team of therapists who ensured we had a service that was accessible to all staff.

“The angel nomination was a very pleasant surprise. I feel that it represent the mental health and emotional wellbeing support pathway for all the NHS staff who have done an incredible job during the pandemic.”
Verity Stokes - Speech and language therapist
Anna Wlodkowska - Housekeeper
Occupational Therapy team

Nicola Bobyk
Yusra Alanezi
Renee Corsie
Maureen Ricketts
Tracey Solarz
Niamh McMahon
Avneet Sahota
Rowena Ingalla
Pharmacy aseptic team

Deirdre Kriel
Anna Gentle
Roopal Chawa
Ibtisaan Mohamoud
Janice Bradley
Pavneet Bhachoo
Meera Alderman
Community maternity support workers

Janet Olaolorun
Shona Keenan
Emma Shelley
Renesha Bailey
Rebecca Wadeson
Nicola Cengiz
Helen McLullich