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And while we’d be hard-pressed to find a way to truly thank health sector staff for their incredible work, there is something you can do to show your appreciation – an award nomination.
The Gloucestershire NHS70 Awards is celebrating the 70th birthday of the NHS by shining a light on some of the county’s everyday heroes, across 13 categories, including one for healthy communities.
They are giving a well-deserved thank you to our nurses, doctors, porters, community workers and carers who dedicate themselves to keeping us happy and well.
So if you’ve received outstanding care that deserves shouting about, do your bit and nominate that person or team for an award. Visit gloucestershirenhs70awards.co.uk
One of our worthy nominees is Sid Roger, a lung cancer clinical nurse specialist at Gloucestershire Royal Hospital.
Sid has cared for hundreds of patients and made an impact on thousands of lives throughout her three decades as a nurse.
Just one of these patients was Mrs Nicholls. Sid cared for her for three weeks while she was given her diagnosis in October 2017 and then for a further two weeks when she was at home. Her daughter Katie Nicholls has nominated Sid for the enduring compassion she has shown her and her family.
“Sid discussed continually the pain relief Mum needed as and when an increase was required. She also repeatedly talked about the normal elements of life she could still achieve, giving her and us hope for the short amount of days we had ahead,” Katie Nicholls explained.
Sadly Mrs Nicholls passed away in November 2017, but Sid’s support was ongoing and it was clear she really cared for the Nicholls family.
“Sid was kind, caring and compassionate she always had time for us even after leaving the hospital.”
“She made time for all of our family members at all times, as well as my Mum herself,” Katie continued.
“Sid was still my main source of support calling me regularly and always calling back if I called for advice. Unfortunately three weeks after leaving hospital we lost Mum and [Sid] still called to talk to us and support us after a great loss to us all.”
This was not a case of Sid simply doing her job – Katie made it clear it was so much more than that.
She said: “All of this was beyond her job role, as we had been handed over to palliative care, but she stayed available as a great source of support all the way along our heart-breaking journey.”
“Sid called most days and always called back when I had left a voice mail. Her continued support to us all as a family was invaluable in what was a short diagnosis, but at the same time bringing a very close family to the darkest place we have ever been losing the core person and the best Mum, nanny and wife.”
Sid Roger’s care was so important to the family, that they believe she more than deserves an NHS70 award.
Sid, who qualified as a nurse in 1987 and has been in cancer care for more than 25 years, was blown away by the nomination.
“I had no idea, it is a complete and utter shock. I'm really flattered to be nominated - I can't believe it,” she said.
"We all work really hard to make cancer care the best we can. It's nice to be singled out - but I'm certainly not the only one."
If you’ve been cared for by an outstanding member of the NHS, nominate them now at gloucestershirenhs70awards.co.uk