This year, for the first time, the awards were also open to local schools, staff working in the Health & Wellbeing Partnership with NHS B&NES, as well as those working for contracted partners. The panel of judges – comprising Councillors, officers and representatives from partner organisations – received over 110 nominations from both the public and staff colleagues.
Individual awards
The 16 individual winners have been chosen in four categories:
- Excellent service: Going beyond the call of duty
- Exceptional circumstances: Providing a great service under pressure
- Efficiency: Finding even better ways of doing a job well
- A charitable or exceptional act
Excellent service
Gary Peacock, Team Leader, Public Transport, Planning & Transportation, Customer Services Gary Peacock is recognised for his excellent work in the Strategic Transport Projects Team, in particular his role in the engineering aspects of the high profile £54m Bath Transportation Package. He is praised for his professional and diligent approach, and clear focus against a backdrop of tight deadlines, and pressures. |  |
Irene Stewart, School Crossing Co-ordinator, Planning & Transportation Development, Customer Services Irene Stewart, the Council’s School Crossing Co-ordinator since November 2008, is recognised for her dedication to the role. She is very popular with the patrols themselves, and has gone to great lengths to fill all the vacant patrol posts. Many of these posts had been vacant for years, a situation which is commonplace in other councils. |  |
Jean Welch, Teacher, Farrington Gurney Primary School, Children’s Services Jean Welch is a teacher at Farrington Gurney Primary School. Not only is she an exceptional teacher who really cares about each child in her class, she performs many additional roles in the community. She performs her role as school Special Educational Needs Coordinator with dedication and care. She passionately encourages walking to school and healthy eating and even voluntarily runs an after-school cookery club which is always oversubscribed. She helps those training to be teachers and teaching assistants by willingly giving up her breaks and providing after-school sessions to support and guide them. |  |
Keith Chubb, Building Services Manager, Property Services, Resources & Support Services Keith Chubb receives an award for his outstanding performance as Building Services Manager for the Council’s Riverside office in Keynsham and Keynsham Town Hall. Since June 2008 Riverside has experienced a series of major power failures and has seen two floors of office space refurbished. Keith has attended the building at all hours, day and night, to ensure contractors and maintenance staff have access. During this winter's bad weather Keith was there to ensure that all went smoothly, whilst maintaining a cheerful and helpful attitude. |  |
Natalie Rawlings, Casual Support Worker, Supported Living, Adult Care & Health Natalie Rawlings is the key worker for a lady who has a learning disability and many health problems. Natalie has supported this lady to overcome her disabilities and, by helping her apply for extra housing support, enabled her to buy her own bungalow and live independently. Natalie has also supported this lady with her everyday health needs by meeting with staff at the Royal United Hospital on the dialysis unit and liaising with other health professionals. |  |
Bill Bailey, Events Park Co-ordinator, Environmental Services, Customer Services Bill Bailey has worked for the Parks Department for over 50 years, and is well-known in the community for providing excellent service and regularly going beyond the call of duty. In recent years his main has been assisting with events and he can be regularly found at weekends helping event organisers or brass bands setting up for concerts in the parks. |  |
Steven Goodenough, Cleansing Operative, Environmental Services, Customer Services Steven Goodenough, a Neighbourhood Cleansing Operative in Bath city centre, is rewarded for his significant contribution to improving the local environment. He is a familiar face in the city and a frontline ambassador for Bath, interacting with residents and the vast numbers of visitors. He often works six days a week, in all weather, smiling and happy to help. |  |
Veronica Tuck, School Administrator, Broadlands School, Children’s Services Veronica Tuck has worked at Broadlands School for 30 years, where she is now the school administrator. Her commitment and dedication to the school is above and beyond what would normally be expected of any employee She is always the first person that any member of staff, teaching and support staff, will go to for information, advice or help. She has a compassionate and caring nature, is at all times discreet and sensitive, and the community of Broadlands has benefited from her hard work. |  |
Exceptional circumstances
Liz Durnford, Planning Information Officer, Planning & Transportation, Customer Services Liz Durnford is rewarded for outstanding work in the Planning Service. Since being appointed as a Planning Information Officer in 2005 she has become a central point of contact for members of the public, applicants and agents and her helpful and efficient approach to research has received many complimentary comments. She has made an important contribution to the recent improvements in the speed of determining planning applications. |  |
Steve McGill, Cleansing Operative, Environmental Services, Customer Services Steve McGill is an active and respected member of the West Neighbourhood Service Team. His job is to clear litter and fly tipping in and around Keynsham and Saltford. He was nominated by the clerk of Keynsham Town Council who praised his contribution towards a major fall in complaints about littering on the High Street. He is also praised for his fantastic efforts in a major clear-up of the streets after 10,000 people descended on the town centre for the 2009 Christmas lights switch-on. Stephen was cleaning the High Street at 10pm to ensure that the traders and shoppers had a clean High Street the next morning. |  |
Tamara Hamman, Senior Customer Services Officer, Revenues, Benefits & Council Connect, Resources & Support Services Tamara Hamman is recognised for the dedication and commitment she shows to customers and colleagues. She has managed many challenges since she took up the role of Senior Customer Services Officer in November 2009. During the bad weather she ensured that Council Connect continued to deliver a good service through what was a very busy and demanding period. Her patience, calming influence and the good rapport she has with staff enables the team to operate effectively in what can be a pressurised and sometimes difficult role. | |
Efficiency
Helen Harris, Tissue Viability Nurse, Health & Wellbeing Partnership, NHS B&NES Helen Harris was appointed as NHS B&NES’s first Tissue Viability nurse in 2007. Thanks to her expertise and hard work patient care has improved, staff knowledge increased and the organisation has also benefited financially. Helen is well respected for the work she does and receives very positive feedback from patients and staff; on many occasions she has worked over and above the call of duty to ensure patients have received the care they require. |  |
Julia Burton, Libraries Development Manager, Tourism, Leisure & Culture, Customer Services Library Development Manager Julia Burton is rewarded for her leadership in managing the implementation of self service across the area’s libraries. It was a challenging project but she worked hard in engaging staff and resolving difficulties, making herself available on consecutive weekends to ensure that installations were completed on time. The project was delivered successfully, on time and within budget. |  |
Lisa Gore, Waste Strategy & Contracts Officer, Environmental Services, Customer Services Martin Hellyer, Technical Officer, Environmental Services, Customer Services Lisa Gore and Martin Hellyer from the Environmental Services Team are both rewarded for their excellent work during the change-over to same-day waste and recycling collections in June 2009. This was a major exercise which involved re-routing all collection vehicles using new software, and Lisa and Martin worked tirelessly to master the new system and input the masses of data required. An incredible amount of work was involved in this behind-the-scenes planning, and they both worked long hours, quietly getting on with the work required. Their work was essential to the delivery of the project. |  |
Charitable or exceptional act
| Paul Welland, PCV Driver, Planning & Transportation, Customer Services Paul Welland receives an award for his calmness and quick thinking when the Dial-a-Ride bus caught fire in Keynsham. Bus driver Paul had stopped in Temple Street and noticed smoke coming up from the inside of the bus. He calmly helped passengers off the bus, closing the doors and phoning the fire brigade. The smoke quickly turned to flames and the damage was so severe that the vehicle had to be written-off. The fire brigade officers who attended said Paul's action was exactly what should have been done and his calm and positive response prevented a far more serious incident. |  |
Team awards
This year we received more team nominations than ever before. The final eight awards show how well we are working together, not just within teams and across different departments, but – more and more – across different organisations.
Combe Down Stone Mines Project Team, Development & Major Projects The Combe Down Stone Mines Team is recognised for its work in managing this major project to stabilise abandoned limestone mine workings in Combe Down. The project, now completed, was the largest of its kind in the world and involved stabilising 773 properties using over 600,000 cubic metres of concrete, removing the threat to property and to those living in, working in and travelling through area. The team worked closely with the community completing the project with minimum disruption. |  |
Contaminated Land Team, Environmental Services, Development & Major Projects, Legal Services, NHS B&NES The Contaminated Land Team is awarded for the professional way in which it deals with often very sensitive issues in the community. The team brings together staff from Environmental Services, Development & Major Projects, Legal Services and NHS B&NES to manage cases of contaminated land. Team members work closely with the community, holding drop-in sessions for residents and making personal visits to households, explaining what is happening and what needs to be done. Members of the team work above and beyond the call of duty, and this is a great example of how different departments work effectively together, along with partners and other organisations. |  |
Council Connect Contact Centre, Plymouth House, Revenues, Benefits & Council Connect The Council Connect Contact Centre at Plymouth House in Bath is rewarded for its hard work and commitment. The team deals with an enormous variety of customer enquiries by phone, text and email, handling requests for many different Council services including waste, highways, libraries and planning. Over the past year the team has supported several high-profile campaigns –including the move to same-day waste collections and has dealt with exceptionally high call volumes. For example in January, because of extreme weather conditions, they handled 23,000 telephone calls – the highest monthly number for over three years. The fact that they receive around 100 personal compliments a month shows that their efficient, effective and courteous service is much appreciated by customers. |  |
Falls Clinic Team, Clara Cross Unit, St Martin’s Hospital, Health & Wellbeing Partnership, NHS B&NES The Falls Clinic Team based at St Martin’s Hospital provides an efficient service to thousands of older people who have fallen or who are at risk of falls. The team works with over 1000 patients a year and consistently receives excellent feedback from patients and relatives. It was recently rated in the top 25% of falls clinics in the country. The clinic has been innovative in piloting a pharmacist within the team, as well as introducing balance exercise groups. It is committed to working with the Council to provide more exercise groups for those at risk of falling. |  |
The Family Placement Team, Children’s Service The Family Placement Team is responsible for the recruitment, support and supervision of Bath & North East Somerset foster carers, family link carers and adoptive families. At any one time the team is 'looking after' around 90 family households – whilst also actively seeking to increase the number of families available to care for the 145 children and young people in the Council’s care. The 18-strong team, which includes managers, social workers, support workers and administrative staff, is recognised for its achievement in increasing the number of families available for fostering at a time when, nationally, there is a shortage of people coming forward. |  |
Housing Options & Homelessness Team, Housing Services, Health & Wellbeing Partnership, NHS B&NES The Housing Options & Homelessness Team is part of the Health & Wellbeing Partnership, and involves Council and NHS B&NES staff. This team is recognised for its work in reducing the number of households living in temporary accommodation and improving the living conditions of many vulnerable households. Between 2005 and the end of 2009 the number of households living in temporary accommodation in Bath and North East Somerset dropped from 72 to 24; far exceeding the national 50% target set in 2005. This was achieved by the team working with other housing professionals and private landlords and agents. |  |
Mouchel IT Server Team, Mouchel Partnership The Mouchel Server Team, which provides human resources and IT services to the Council, has led the way on technical innovation within the Council which not only helps save money but also contributes towards environmental targets. By introducing the latest server and storage technology, the team has reduced the Council's costs by £500,000, and drastically reduced electricity consumption and CO2 emissions. More recently, the team has begun to implement a new disaster recovery system which will allow the recovery of critical IT systems in minutes, rather than the days it takes currently. The new system will pay for itself over the next four years and will then save the Council around £50,000 every year. |  |
Supported Living Team, St Martin’s Hospital, Health & Wellbeing Partnership, NHS B&NES Michelle Darch, Catherine Loring and Jude Lakey from the Supported Living Team were nominated by a member of the public for their compassionate support for her sister, who has learning difficulties and who has been receiving support from the Council for 35 years. She said they worked tirelessly to support her sister in realising her dream of acquiring her own home, from helping her identify a suitable mortgage through to ensuring the house was suitably modified and helping her move in. Much of this work was completed in their own time and they were always friendly, cheerful and thoughtful in their approach, despite the many setbacks encountered. Michelle, Catherine and Jude are part of the Health & Wellbeing Partnership and are based at St Martin’s Hospital. |  |
Congratulations to all our winners!
Nominations are already open for next year’s awards. Members of the public who wish to nominate any employee of Bath & North East Somerset Council – including school staff - can download a form from the website at www.bathnes.gov.uk/excellence, pick one up from one of our offices or call 01225 477201.