The resilience and flexibility of St Richard’s Hospital Laundry Team has been celebrated in the monthly UHSussex Stars recognition programme.
The team were nominated by Lizzie Peers, Non-Executive Director, and Patrick Boyle, Deputy Chair and Non-Executive Director, for their efforts before, during and after the £7million refurbishment of the laundry service.
The Chichester site, which processes laundry and linen for Worthing, St Richard’s, and Southlands hospitals, was closed for several months while the building was refitted.
This resulted in the laundry being processed at Eastbourne NHS Laundry on a 24-hour turn around to avoid any changes to the supply.
Richard Knowles, Laundry and Transport Manager, awarded the team in a surprise presentation, and congratulated them on their adaptability to changing work environments, temporary redeployments, and new state of the art equipment.
Tim Carter, Laundry Supervisor, said: “The last six to eight months have been a challenge, so this award is credit to everyone in the team and their monumental efforts. They have all pulled together and been flexible in ensuring demands were met, producing a fantastic hospital service that will benefit our staff and patients.”
The service officially reopened in October and is the most up-to-date hospital laundry in the NHS. It now provides a faster sorting process, an increase in capacity and a reduction in the environmental impact of the service.
Using less power, water, chemicals and plastics, will help meet the environmental goals of the Trust’s Patient First, Planet First Green Plan.
In her nomination, Lizzie highlighted how the team also ‘worked tirelessly throughout the covid pandemic and always gave 100%.’
Patrick added: “This is the most impressive team, who have over the years demonstrated their commitment and dedication to delivering a responsive and high-quality service to our patients.”
If you know a member of staff, team or volunteer that has gone above and beyond why not nominate them for a Star of the Month award.