Team enjoying the barbecue
A special ‘Thank You’ lunch was held on Thursday (November 14) afternoon for hundreds of dedicated NHS colleagues at Hemel Hempstead Hospital, to recognise their hard work and dedication in looking after patients.
Nearly 400 burgers were served up by volunteers from the Rapid Relief Team (RRT) charity to the hospital's nurses, doctors and support staff in the latest of a series of Thank You events across the hospitals managed by West Herts Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust.
Colleagues tucked into beef and vegetarian burgers, nachos, salad and drinks as they took time out to enjoy a well-deserved break.
The event recognised the progress teams across the Trust had made in improving patient care, which includes improving cancer waiting times and consistently meeting all three national performance targets since August.
The Trust has also virtually eliminated the number of patients waiting more than 65 weeks for non-urgent treatment, from over 350 in the summer to just three by the end of September.
Mel Chambers, Deputy Chief Nurse, said: "The teams at Hemel Hempstead do a fantastic job and we’re hugely appreciative of their work, passion and dedication to patients.
"This was our way of saying thank you to them for everything they do. Along with the delicious food, I know people enjoyed an opportunity to catch up with each other and it was lovely to see so many smiling faces."
Toby Moffitt, team leader for RRT, said: "It’s lovely to be able to thank the wonderful teams at Hemel for all the work they do for our local communities.
"We served up hundreds of burgers for staff who seemed to enjoy themselves. There was a real feel-good factor at the event, and we were glad to be part of it."
Rapid Relief Team is a charity that specialises in catering and support for other charities, public sector workers and relief workers.