31 December 2020

Two senior members of staff at Frimley Health NHS Foundation Trust have been recognised in the New Year Honours.

Medical Director Dr Tim Ho and Head of Nursing for Critical Care Diane Dodsworth are both being made MBEs for the way they helped shape the Trust’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Dr Ho has provided clear and compassionate leadership of colleagues during the most challenging period the NHS has faced.

He mobilised and supported senior colleagues who stepped into emergency response command roles and oversaw the retraining of colleagues into frontline Covid-19 roles as well as significant changes in the delivery of care.

Dr Ho said: “I was truly stunned and humbled when I received the news of this award. This is genuinely a reflection of the hard work, dedication and patient care the staff at Frimley Health and indeed the whole health and care system in our area have delivered during the pandemic. I see this is as much an honour for them as for me.”

Diane manages the critical care teams across Frimley Park and Wexham Park Hospitals. She played a key role in helping the Trust to double its critical care capacity to cope with the first peak of the pandemic in April, and she continues to provide her staff with outstanding leadership today. Her team led the training of more than 200 non-ICU nurses to ensure they had the additional skills required to work on the units.

She said: “I see this award as one for the critical care teams across Frimley Health. It would have been impossible for me to undertake the enormous challenge of the last 10 months without the hard work, determination and support of our brilliant critical care teams as well as the wider organisation and the huge number of staff that have worked with us.”

Neil Dardis, Chief Executive at Frimley Health, said: “This is well deserved recognition for Tim and Di’s outstanding contribution during the Covid pandemic and we are very proud that they have been recognised in this way.

“Moreover, the fact that members of our teams have received these honours is a reflection on our entire Trust and all that our teams have achieved through this year.”

A total of 1,239 people across the country were recognised in the New Year Honours.