Humbled doctor reflects on health award win

A proud doctor refelected on the night he won a trophy - and said it left him 'completely shocked and humbled.'
Hospital Doctor of the Year Chris Philips (left) and Richard Ellis.Hospital Doctor of the Year Chris Philips (left) and Richard Ellis.
Hospital Doctor of the Year Chris Philips (left) and Richard Ellis.

Consultant microbiologist Richard Ellis, who works at South Tyneside Hospital, was the joint winner of the Hospital Doctor of the Year category at last year’s Best of Health Awards along with Dr Chris Phillips, an Emergency Department Consultant from Sunderland.

Richard looked back on his 2017 success and said: “When my name was read out, I was completely shocked and humbled, so much so that I became very tongue-tied and forgot to give an acceptance speech!

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“I thought ‘I don’t deserve to be here’. All the teams who won prizes and the unsuccessful nominees all deserved the praise contained in their nominations.

“In retrospect, though I couldn’t have won the prize without the dedication of the teams who come to me for clinical advice and my family were obviously very happy that I had won the award as was I.”

Richard was nominated for an award by the junior doctors he works with and he said: “They are a great bunch of hard-working people.”

And he urged people to nominate their own health heroes as they could be the ones collecting a trophy this year.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

He added: “I thoroughly recommend that all South Tyneside and Sunderland staff get out there and nominate those teams they think deserve an award.

“Even if they don’t win, the boost to those teams is immeasurable and only can improve their already high levels of commitment across two Trusts who excel in their delivery of care.”

Richard is an example of the fantastic people working in South Tyneside’s health profession and you can put them in the running for honours by nominating them for a Best of Health Award.

The sponsors for this year’s awards are South Tyneside NHS Foundation Trust, City Hospitals Sunderland NHS Foundation Trust, and the Sunderland Clinical Commissioning Group.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

We thank them all for their fantastic backing and watch out for more information on each in the weeks to come.

In the meantime, we need your entries to truly reward those who deserve praise.

The deadline for all nominations is Monday, April 2, and the judges will meet the following week to decide on the shortlist.

The grand final will be held at the Roker Hotel, in Sunderland, on Thursday, April 26.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

To nominate, just send your name, address and telephone number, as well as your email address, if applicable. Remember to include the category you are putting your nominated cause into.

Also send the name of the person you wish to nominate, along with their address, telephone number and email (if known).

Send all the details to Lynn Wild by no later than Monday, April 2.

Email those entries to [email protected] or send them to Lynn Wild, Alexander House, Second Floor, Rainton Bridge Business Park, Houghton-le-Spring, Sunderland, DH4 5RA.

THE CATEGORIES.

GP/ Practice of the Year.

Hospital Doctor of the Year.

Nurse of the Year.

Community Nurse of the Year.

Dentist/ Practice of the Year.

Optometrist of the Year.

Therapist of the Year.

Care worker of the Year.

Dental Nurse of the Year.

Midwife of the Year.

Pharmacist of the Year.

Team of the Year.

Customer Service/ Unsung hero Award.

Long term Achievement.