8 March 2021

This year the NHS is celebrating International Women’s Day with the theme of ‘everyday courage’ in tribute to the courage being demonstrated by women in health and care during these extraordinary times.

Frimley Health is full of thousands of amazingly brave women who never cease to amaze us with their courage and dedication to our patients. On International Women’s Day we’d like to share just a handful of their stories:

Dr Elaine Hipwell – ICU Consultant
Dr Hipwell works as one of the only female consultants in our ICU departments. She works tirelessly to uphold her exceptionally high standards of care and has been an inspiration and role model to many of her colleagues, particularly the female trainees.

In the first wave of the Covid-19 pandemic Dr Hipwell was heavily involved in the planning and training of the anaesthetics department to deal with critically ill Covid patients - a role she has continued over the second wave of the virus.

Her motivation doesn’t dwindle outside of work either. During the pandemic Elaine has helped to support the Trust further by inspiring her local community to bake cakes and even sew special theatre hats.

One colleague said: “She has worked bravely and ferociously, facing true adversity, personal sacrifice and on some occasions total exhaustion. Her courageous approach and fortitude during the Covid pandemic is something to be admired.”

Deborah Rogers – Equality and Diversity Officer
Deborah works across all of the Frimley Health sites as our Equality and Diversity Officer. She is also trained as a mental health first aider and runs the Disability and Carers Forum for staff.

Throughout most of the pandemic Deborah has been carrying out her work at home but has always volunteered to come into the hospitals to help staff who may need support.

One colleague is particularly appreciative of Deborah’s work in the past few months, after she helped them following a particularly difficult start to the year. Deborah signposted them to support services and scheduled in a time to meet with them weekly to ensure they were coping well and getting the support they needed.

They said: “Deborah has been quite an inspiration to me. Her kindness, humility, and the time she gives to others should be acknowledged.”

Tania Lopes – Senior Sister
Tania works as a senior sister on one of our surgical wards at Frimley Park Hospital where she is well loved by colleagues and patients alike.

She has always worked fantastically hard but over the last year she has excelled, working on past her shifts and coming in early to make sure her team feel supported.

Tania is a surgical nurse day to day but has had to adapt her practice to deal with the influx of medical patients that are now staying on her ward due to Covid. She took this all in her stride and made sure her team felt confident in the new work they were undertaking as well.

Not only has Tania overcome these professional hurdles, she’s also unfortunately had to deal with family illness at home in Portugal. Being unable to visit has been difficult but Tania was still able to give her absolute best to the patients in her care.

One colleague said: “Nothing is ever a problem for Tania. From once working alongside her, to now working just down the corridor, all I ever hear is fantastic feedback.”

Sallyann Cooper – Ward Clerk
Sallyann is a dedicated ward clerk and receptionist, splitting her time between reception in our Department and our Post Anaesthetic Care Unit.

The Emergency Department reception is often a difficult place to work, not knowing what the shift will bring in through the front doors. However, at the start of the pandemic Sally volunteered her time to PACU and has spent three lockdowns witnessing the loss of many patients.

She has shown bravery and compassion in comforting the relatives of critically ill patients on a daily basis, an especially difficult job when relatives are often not allowed to visit their loved ones and rely on ward clerks for information and updates.

One colleague said: “Sally, in my eyes, is amazing. Her bravery, compassion and strength of character have been immeasurable during this incredibly difficult time”