Published on: 22 October 2025
Derbyshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust held its annual HEARTS staff awards ceremony today (22 October) at the Trust’s conference room at Kingsway Hospital, Derby. Among this year’s award recipients were an employee with nearly five decades of dedicated long service, as well as a doctor recognised for his exceptional support to patients thanks to his practical expertise and compassionate approach.
The awards ceremony, hosted by members of the Trust’s Board of Directors and sponsored by Hill Dickinson, Kier Construction and Arden Partnership, recognised individual Trust employees and teams who have gone above and beyond the call of duty and performed at a consistently high level over the last year to support patients, carers and fellow colleagues. Over 180 nominations were received for the awards from both inside and outside the organisation.
Angela Rafferty – Lead Nurse for the Electroconvulsive Therapy (ECT) Suite team – received with the ‘Derbyshire Healthcare Lifetime Achievement’ award for dedicating 48 years of service to the NHS.
Angela was described as having shown “dedication” and “compassion” throughout her career. Her reliability, quiet leadership and pride in her work have made a lasting impact in acute mental health care and ECT services.
Lexine Price, Senior Nurse working in the ECT team, has worked closely with Angela for many years and submitted the nomination for her colleague. She collected Angela’s award on the night and said: “Angela and I have crossed career paths many times over the years. I first met her in 1984 when I was a naïve anxious student nurse on my very first placement. Angela took me under her wing and guided me.
“Angela’s kindness and caring demeanour has always shone through and stayed with me. Angela has worked in many different roles in her time working within acute services, which has required a lot of strength and resilience on her part.
“Angela is someone who doesn’t draw attention to herself – she is quiet, conscientious and caring. She just gets on and does the job. She is someone who truly goes the extra mile for patients and colleagues.”
The ‘Outstanding Care and Compassion’ award was presented to an individual for working effectively for the wider benefit of the Trust and patients, demonstrating ambition and a desire to support patients and people. This award went to Dr Saladi Sudhakar, a consultant psychiatrist with the Erewash Community Mental Health Team.
Dr Sudhakar won this award after being nominated by a patient, who praised Saladi’s consistent and compassionate care, describing how his understanding, responsiveness and tailored support have made a real difference in the patient’s recovery.
In the nomination, the patient said: “Dr Sudhakar’s compassion, clarity and clinical expertise have not only guided me through the most difficult chapters of my mental health journey, but have given me a renewed sense of self and hope. His unwavering support, responsiveness and understanding have made recovery possible – he listens, explains, and never makes me feel like a burden.
“He is caring and extremely knowledgeable in his role and has led me to multiple services which have been life changing. I believe he hasn’t just saved my life but many others. If only I could show the world where I was a few years ago compared to today, it would really highlight his extreme compassion for helping individuals in the community. My words can’t do justice to how amazing he is. I have huge respect for him, and he is giving me another shot at life.”
Dr Sudhakar was pleased to be celebrated on the night, he said: “It’s incredibly rewarding to see the positive changes in my patient – not just in their mental health, but in the way they carry themselves, how they speak, how they dress. To witness someone rediscover their confidence and sense of self is a privilege. It reminds me why I do this work.”
This year’s awards included a new category, the 'Patient Focus' award, which recognises a team or individual who demonstrates exceptional respect for, and responsiveness to, the needs and values of our service users, patients, children, families, and carers. This commitment is reflected through positive feedback, improved service outcomes, and consistently high levels of satisfaction.
The Children in Care and Adoption team, who offer confidential support and advice to children in care in Derby city, and their foster carers, won this award for their commitment to co-production, peer support and continuous improvement which has led to high satisfaction rates.
The nomination, which was submitted by a member of staff at the NHS Derby and Derbyshire Integrated Care Board (ICB) read: "The Children in Care and Adoption team places children at the heart of every decision, building relationships rooted in trust and empathy, while consistently delivering outstanding support shaped by lived experience and emotional insight. From the way they answer a phone call to navigating emotionally complex conversations, the team embodies respectful, responsive, and inclusive practice at every level.”
Dr Achana Marudkar, Associate Specialist, and Kelly Thompson, Named Nurse attended the ceremony to represent the team, and said: “We were genuinely thrilled just to be nominated – to win was an unexpected and deeply meaningful moment for all of us. This recognition means a great deal, especially given the emotional intensity of the work we do with vulnerable children and young people. It’s a real team effort – from our doctors and nurses to our admin colleagues – and we’re proud of the way we support each other every day. We’re a close-knit team, and this award reflects the compassion and commitment that goes into everything we do.”
Other award categories included the ‘Partnership and Collaboration’ award, which celebrates an individual that has gone to significant lengths to involve experts by experience, members of our communities or system partners in shaping their services or their work.
The award winner was Lynn Dunham, Care Standards Co-ordinator and Carer Involvement Lead, who was chosen for this award for her efforts to advocate for carers and improve partnership working across the Trust and wider system. Her inclusive approach has strengthened service development, supported engagement and improved outcomes for carers and families.
The nomination, which was submitted by a representative of Derby City Council, read: “Lynn’s ability to create safe, inclusive spaces for carers to contribute meaningfully – while championing their voices across services and partnerships – has been instrumental in improving outcomes and shaping more carer-aware practice across the Trust.”
Lynn was honoured to receive his award, she said: “I was genuinely shocked to receive a HEARTS Award. For me, this doesn’t feel like work – I’m simply doing what I love. It’s a privilege to advocate for carers and help shape services that truly reflect their voices."
Mark Powell, Chief Executive at Derbyshire Healthcare, congratulated colleagues who were successfully named as winners and finalists, as well as all those who were nominated.
Mark said: “It’s a privilege to celebrate the dedication, compassion and excellence shown by our colleagues across Derbyshire Healthcare. Whether recognised as winners, finalists or nominees, everyone has made a meaningful difference to the lives of those we care for, and that’s what the HEARTS Awards are all about.
“These awards reflect the values we hold as a Trust – putting people first, working together, and striving for continuous improvement. I’m incredibly proud of the commitment shown by our staff and grateful for the positive impact they make every day as representatives of this Trust. I’m also very grateful to our sponsors, Arden Partnership, Hill Dickinson and Kier, for making these awards possible.”
A full list of winners from our HEARTS Awards are:
- Clinical Team of the Year Award – a team award category - for rising to the challenge of working in ever-changing circumstances and delivering compassionate, safe, responsive and effective care to patients.
WINNER – Bolsover Older Adult Community Mental Health Team (CMHT)
- Non-Clinical Team of the Year Award – a team award category - for working effectively for the wider benefit of the Trust and patients, demonstrating ambition and a desire to support our patients and our people.
JOINT WINNERS –Capital Projects & Making Room for Dignity Programme team; and Estates and Facilities department
- Making a Positive Difference Award – for a team or individual that has made a positive difference to the lives of the people we serve or work with every day by creating a positive culture and by embodying our values: Caring, Inclusive, Collaborative, Ambitious, Belonging.
WINNER – Amanda, Occupational Therapist, Forensic Community Mental Health Team (CMHT)
- Patient Focus Award – for a team or individual that excels in being respectful of, and responsive to, the needs and values of our service users, patients, children, families and carers, resulting in positive feedback or service outcomes and high levels of satisfaction.
WINNER – Children in Care and Adoption team
- Productivity and Innovation Award – showcasing a team or individual that has found new ways to deliver projects or services that demonstrate best value for our population, encourage prevention and self-care, embrace technology and/or result in efficiencies.
WINNER – Erica Screaton and the Occupational Therapy team at the Derwent Unit
- Outstanding Care and Compassion Award – for an individual who goes the extra mile to ensure their service is caring and compassionate and makes a difference to the lives of patients, service users, carers and colleagues.
WINNER – Dr Saladi Sudhakar – Consultant Psychiatrist, Erewash Community Mental Health Team (CMHT) – Outpatients
- Partnership and Collaboration Award – for an individual that has gone to significant lengths to involve experts by experience, members of our communities or system partners in shaping their services or their work.
WINNER – Lynn Dunham, Care Standards Co-ordinator and Carer Involvement Lead
- Rising Star Award – individual award category - this award recognises outstanding performance within the organisation and celebrates growing talent at Derbyshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust. This person will be new to the NHS or their profession and have made exceptional and ambitious contributions to their team and service.
WINNER – Oluyomi Ladapo – Registered Nurse, Cubley Court Male older adult dementia inpatient service
- Inclusive Leader Award – individual award category (Derbyshire Healthcare staff nominations only) - for showing real care and compassion for colleagues, recognising and celebrating the positive impact of inclusion and diversity and creating a sense of belonging. Open to colleagues from all levels of the organisation.
WINNER – Nicole Ellis – Mobilisation Project Manager, Making Room for Dignity programme team
- Lifetime Achievement Award – individual award category (Derbyshire Healthcare staff nominations only) - this award seeks to recognise colleagues with over 40 years’ service who have dedicated their career to the NHS. They will truly reflect the Trust values and will have demonstrated a commitment to providing support and care to both patients and staff.
WINNER – Angela Rafferty – Lead Nurse, Electroconvulsive Therapy (ECT) Suite team
Award nominations were considered by a judging panel made up of Chief Executive – Mark Powell, Trust Chair – Selina Ullah, Director of People, Organisational Development and Inclusion – Rebecca Oakley, and expert by experience – Rosie Thorpe.
Awards were presented at the ceremony by:
- Chief Executive – Mark Powell
- Deputy Chief Executive/Chief Delivery Officer – Vikki Ashton Taylor
- Trust Chair – Selina Ullah
- Rosie Thorpe, expert by experience
- Kier representative – Steven Millward
- Hill Dickinson representative – Amy Millson
- Lynn Andrews, Non-Executive Director
- Ralph Knibbs, Non-Executive Director
- Susan Ryan, lead governor
- Andrew Harkness, Non-Executive Director
- Deborah Good, Non-Executive Director.
