OUTSTANDING staff and volunteers who go the extra mile to help patients have been honoured at a local healthcare awards ceremony.

The Dorset HealthCare 2016 Heroes Awards celebrated the efforts of workers in services and locations across the county.

Held at the Weymouth and Portland National Sailing Academy, the event showcased hard work carried out by staff throughout the Trust, which provides a range of community and inpatient physical and mental health services.

Staff, patients, carers, families and members of the public gathered to see winners across the different categories recognised for their hard work.

Winners included Tracy Hardy, a housekeeping assistant at Wareham Hospital, Rachel Sadler, community mental health nurse at Fairmile House in Christchurch, Samantha Rotheram, team leader with the Bournemouth East Community Mental Health Team, and Zach Bayliss, a community mental health nurse, who works with homeless people in Bournemouth. James Tyson, staff nurse at St Ann’s Hospital in Poole, won an award after leading efforts, previously reported in the Daily Echo, to raise more than £1,000 to help a terminally ill service user whose flat was burgled while in hospital.

Ann Abraham, chair of Dorset HealthCare, said: “It was a real privilege to hear stories of staff who have gone above and beyond what is expected of them, to make sure people around Dorset receive the care or treatment they need.

“Everyone who was nominated deserves recognition. Staff at Dorset HealthCare work tremendously hard every day to help people in all sorts of situations. I wish we could give everyone an award.”

The awards followed Dorset HealthCare’s Annual Members’ Meeting, where Trust governors, members, staff and other guests gathered to hear about the Trust’s work during 2015/16, and its plans to develop and improve services over the next 12 months.

The day also featured a special lunch for some of the volunteers around Dorset who provide tireless support to the Trust. There was also a ‘Dragons’ Den’ event, where staff pitched ideas to help enhance services for patients. An award of £2,000 was made to the ‘Space for Growth’ project to create a garden growing area in the grounds of St Ann’s Hospital in Poole, to help improve the wellbeing of patients, volunteers, staff and visitors. The panel of ‘dragons’ also pledged that the other three ideas would all receive development support to bring them to fruition. These were: a project to support patients’ transition from CAMHS to adult mental health services; a loneliness reduction and resilience programme and a plan to improve dental health among young children.