Staff from Wrightington, Wigan and Leigh Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (WWL) were treated to a night of celebration on Friday 14th November.
The fourth annual STAR (Staff Thanks and Recognition) Awards, for WWL staff to be thanked and recognised for their hard work over the past year, saw trophies and certificates handed out to individuals and teams from across the Trust, with 280 attendees at the fully sponsored event, held at The Brick Community Stadium, Wigan.
The 10 categories included the People at the Heart Award, Leader of The Year, STAR of the Year, and the CEO Award, with the winners being chosen from over 400 nominations.
WWL Chief Executive, Mary Fleming said: “Our STAR Awards event is all about celebrating excellence - recognising the outstanding achievements of WWL staff and the powerful teamwork that defines our Trust. The awards themselves reflect our Trust values – ‘People at the Heart’, ‘Listen and Involve’, ‘Kind and Respectful’ and ‘One Team’ – and they give us the opportunity to come together to celebrate and recognise the extraordinary compassion and dedication our staff bring to WWL every single day. While 2025 has brought its share of opportunities and challenges, they have continued to go above and beyond - supporting each other, innovating, and keeping our patients at the heart of everything they do.
“I would also like to thank our sponsors, without them events like this, to recognise our incredible staff, wouldn’t be able to go ahead. We are extremely grateful to have their help in celebrating the excellence of our colleagues and services, and we were proud to have them with us on the night too.”
This year, and brand new for 2025, the People’s Choice Award was given out to one finalist who was nominated by the public, giving the WWL community a voice in recognising the care and kindness they’ve experienced first-hand.
The winners were:
- People at The Heart Award – Health Outreach and Inclusion Service
- Listen and Involve Award – Colorectal and Stoma Nursing Team
- Kind and Respectful Award – Sharon Ashcroft
- The One Team Award (Clinical) - Infection Prevention and Control Team
- The One Team Award (Non-Clinical) – We LEAD Project Team
- Innovation, Integration and Improvement Award – Wrightington Length of Stay
- Leader of The Year Award – Lee Unsworth, Directorate Manager Radiology, Cancer Services & Pathology
- STAR of The Year Award – Zohaib Jamal, Clinical Fellow, General Surgery
- People’s Choice Award – Laura Jenions, Critical Care Outreach Practitioner, Critical Care Outreach Team
- CEO Award – Ward 3, Leigh Infirmary