NHS Golden Jubilee’s infection control team is celebrating after being unveiled as a finalist in this year’s Scottish Heath Awards.
Members of the Prevention and Control of Infection team were nominated in the Unsung Hero category for their professionalism and dedication to keeping patients and staff safe at the Clydebank facility, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The team's job is to prevent and keep hospital infections under control and prevent onward transmission. This is challenging in normal times, but throughout the pandemic it was an exhausting and demanding task for the dedicated team.
Throughout the pandemic, the Golden Jubilee served as a ‘Covid-lite’ site, and is playing a vital role in the remobilisation and recovery of NHSScotland, taking on additional services and support for other NHS Health Boards, including urgent cancer care.
Head of Prevention and Control of Infection, Heather Gourlay, said: “The resilience and adaptability of the team over the last 18 months has been nothing short of outstanding, coupled with support from our clinical colleagues applying the national hierarchy of controls required to protect our patient population and our staff.
“Ensuring we had effective prevention and control of infection measures in place enabled the Golden Jubilee to continue providing critical to life heart, lung and cancer care when people needed it most.
“This made the role of infection control and the team’s tireless work more important than ever before.
“The team continued to maintain the fundamental aspects of infection control across the organisation, ensured the commissioning and function of the Eye Centre expansion, as well as developing their own skills and knowledge to facilitate the education, training and support for staff, patients and relatives within a constantly changing global environment.
“Alongside Prevention and Control of Infection teams across the country, we have literally had to learn on the job about COVID-19 transmission, with each member doing their utmost to support our clinical areas and prevent onward transmission.
“In normal circumstances our team do a fantastic job keeping patients and staff safe, but under the added pressures of COVID-19, they really stepped up and showed true professionalism and passion for what they do.”
NHS Golden Jubilee Nurse Director Anne Marie Cavanagh added: “This team are a committed and caring group of professionals who, during the course of the COVID-19 pandemic, have went above and beyond to carry out their duties to keep all patients and staff as safe as they possibly can and minimise the spread of infections and viruses.
“This is often within very pressurised conditions and this role often goes unnoticed by many, however, it is one of immense importance and significant responsibility.
“The professionalism and can-do attitude of this team has helped our Board and, in turn, the country, not only minimise the spread of COVID-19 and other hospital-related infections, but as a result supported the NHS in Scotland to continue to deliver care to some of its most vulnerable patients when they needed it most.
“I wholeheartedly believe the adaptability and resilience of this team, working in collaboration with others, has helped prevent patient and staff harm during this unprecedented pandemic. So on behalf of myself, and all of us at NHS Golden Jubilee, I want to say congratulations and wish the team good luck on the night.”
The Scottish Health Awards ceremony is being held on Thursday 4 November.
