First Community Health and Care hosted a prestigious staff awards and celebration evening at Lingfield Park Racecourse on Thursday 27 February. The event brought together staff and partners to recognise and honour the exceptional dedication and achievements of individuals and teams across the organisation.
Over 200 attendees gathered for the special evening, which highlighted the hard work, commitment, and innovation of those delivering first-rate NHS community healthcare services across east Surrey and parts of West Sussex.
Awards were presented in several categories, acknowledging outstanding contributions to patient care, leadership, and teamwork.
The evening opened with a powerful speech from Sarah Tomkins, Chief Executive Officer (pictured left) who praised the dedication of staff and partners, “Tonight, as we gather to celebrate excellence, I can’t help but feel a sense pride. The achievements we’re recognising tonight aren’t just about what we’ve accomplished – they’re a glimpse into the future we’re creating together.
“In a world that’s changing faster than ever, standing still isn’t an option. The past year has shown us that adaptability, creativity, and resilience aren’t just nice-to-have qualities – they’re essential for success.
“Tonight is also to recognise and celebrate all our colleagues at First Community and those who support us to deliver outstanding lifelong local NHS healthcare.
“As we celebrate our award nominees and winners, let’s also celebrate the spirit and innovation that runs through our entire organisation. Let’s embrace the unknown, welcome challenges as opportunities, and approach each day with curiosity and courage.
“Here’s to every member of our team, whose daily contributions move us forward. And here’s to the exciting journey ahead.”
A special presentation followed to celebrate the many achievements of children’s services who are transferring to a new provider from 1 April 2025. Read more here.
Tributes were also presented to Florence Barras, Chair of the Board and Fiona Smith, Non-Executive Director who will be leaving at the end of March after reaching the end of their six-year term with First Community’s Board.
Giles Tomsett, Chief Executive Officer from St Catherine’s Hospice and winner of the Partner of the Year Award shared his appreciation to First Community colleagues and said, “All of you in the work you do are absolutely fantastic. You all make a difference, and we must continue to work together to innovate and sustain the NHS. We can only do that with fantastic people like yourselves and it’s an honour to be sitting amongst you all tonight.
“We will honour this award very much as First Community, the outstanding First Community, gave it to us.”
The awards ceremony served not only as a recognition of individual and team achievements but also as an opportunity to reflect on the collective success of First Community in enhancing patient experiences and outcomes.
First Community remains committed to excellence in healthcare and looks forward to building on this success in the years to come.
Congratulations to all colleagues and partners who were nominated, commended and awarded as winners.
Caring and Compassionate Patient Experience of the Year Award
Winner: Helen Greenwood, Specialist Practitioner for Motor Neurone Disease
Highly Commended: Katrina Field, Healthcare Assistant
Innovation or Service Quality Improvement of the Year Award
Winner: Heart Failure Team
Highly Commended: Life After Stroke Programme and Faye Moussu, Falls Physiotherapist Team Lead
Leader of the Year Award
Winner: Faye Hopkins-Thorpe, Audiology Service Lead
Highly Commended: Samantha Perry, Clinical Lead for South Tandridge and Care Collaborative Integrated Neighbourhood Teams
Partner of the Year Award
Winner: St Catherine’s Hospice
Highly Commended: James Miller, Head of Transformation and Delivery – East Surrey Place
Rising Star Award
Winner: Bolakale Oshinowo, Healthcare Assistant
Highly Commended: Lucy Quartly Ward Sister
Sustainability Champion Award
Winner: Helen Dredge, Senior Business Support Officer
Highly Commended: Gaetana-Anna Singer, Team Administrator and Deepti De Araujo, Lead Community Dietitian and team
Team of the Year Award
Winner: Pulmonary Rehabilitation Team
Highly Commended: Proactive Care Community Matrons
Values Ambassador Award
Winner: Mel Dawson, Head of Learning and Organisational Development
Highly Commended: Katie Battams, Communications Manager
(Pictured: several of the award winners and highly commended)