Tallaght University Hospital asks Local Community to Nominate Their Hospital Heroes

Who is your hero(February 28th 2019) Tallaght University Hospital (TUH) is calling for the local community, patients and their families to nominate their Hospital heroes for the “Patient Experience Award” and celebrate staff members who have gone above and beyond in providing an exceptional patient experience.

The Hospital Heroes is an employee recognition scheme which celebrates the individuals and teams who go the extra mile and make a real difference to patients and their families. This is the second year of the annual awards that celebrates Hospital staff from every discipline who contribute to the care of patients and support the Hospital ethos of People Caring for People. TUH is calling for the local community to once again get behind the “Patient Experience Award” and nominate a member of staff who has made a real difference during their time or indeed during their family’s time in hospital.  Last year the Hospital received over 200 staff nominations across a range of categories and this year hopes to build on that success and secure even greater community engagement. A short video on the awards ceremony can be viewed here

Speaking about the awards Chief Executive of TUH Lucy Nugent said “We have so many dedicated and hard-working staff, this is a wonderful opportunity for patients to recognise their commitment and compassion. This award is about formally acknowledging the staff who are recognised by patients as making a positive impact in our Hospital and whose care demonstrates how this Hospital is all about ‘people caring for people’.

Catherine Heaney, Coordinator of the Fettercairn Community Health Project and Chair of the Patient Community Advisory Council, representing the community on the judging panel said “I thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity to be part of this initiative last year. It provided me with such an insight into the incredible efforts staff across the Hospital go to in caring for their patients but also one another. I hope even more of the community will take time to put pen to paper and let us know about the difference a gesture or extra effort from a staff member made to their patient experience.”

Application forms for members of the public can be found through this link the Hospital Facebook page and in the main atrium of the Hospital. The closing date for submissions is 26th April with the awards scheduled to take place on June 21st, a date that coincides with the Hospital’s 21st Anniversary. 

About TUH
TUH is one of Ireland’s largest acute teaching hospitals, adult, psychiatric and age-related healthcare on one site. The Hospital has 495 adult beds with 2,600 people on staff. The Hospital is a provider of local, regional and national specialities. It is also a national urology centre, the second largest provider of dialysis services in the country and a regional orthopaedic trauma centre. The Hospital also has 67 paediatric beds under the governance of Children’s Health Ireland. 

TUH is one of the two main teaching hospitals of Trinity College Dublin - specialising in the training and professional development of staff in areas such as nursing, health and social care professionals, emergency medicine and surgery, amongst many others. TUH is part of the Dublin Midlands Hospital Group which serves a population of over 1.2 million across seven counties.  

A new satellite centre is to be built at TUH as part of the National Children’s Hospital project as a key element of an integrated clinical network for paediatric services nationally. The Hospital’s Emergency Departments catered for 51,084 Adult Attendance and 32,424 Paediatric Attendance in 2018. A further 293,751 patients were treated through the Hospital’s Adult and Paediatric outpatient clinics in 2018. The Hospital’s operations are supported by 200 general practitioners in surrounding communities.