Katie Kaluzny, Service Manager
Katie is a very inspiring individual who has worked extremely hard over the years within our control room. Stepping up from Call Taker to Dispatcher early on in her career, Katie was eager to learn and develop herself. This allowed Katie to become an Allocator and offer her knowledge and experience in ensuring that the clinical model was followed, resulting in the patients of North Wales receiving the best possible care and response possible. Following her development aspirations, Katie soon took on the role of Duty Control Manager, proving to be an excellent leader, and offering support to our people where needed. Over the years Katie has lent her hand to training and assisted in the training of control staff in the implementation of the C3 system. Once again, Katie was able to explain and offer her experience to provide excellent leadership which helped staff understand the changes and smooth transition from one operating system to another. Recently, Katie has once again proved herself by stepping into the role of Service Manager for North Wales. Katie has been very inspiring and offers support to her team where and when required.
Lisa Crossfield, Call Taker Supervisor
Lisa is such an inspiring Call Taker and Supervisor. She not only does her job well but encourages other Call Takers/Call Taker Supervisors alike to develop positive working relationships. She organises events outside of work for people to develop friendships which strengthen the service the team deliver to patients through positive relationships and teamwork. She’s recently been promoted to Call Taker Supervisor and if you’d have asked who should be appointed to the role, her name would be first to come to people. She’s so diligent and resilient, she makes others want to be those things too.
Pauline Williams, 999 Call Taker
Pauline is one of the most experienced mentors in North Wales and is a loved member of the team. She is supportive of all new colleagues and always has time to offer guidance when you’re unsure, even if you’ve been in a role for two years. She’s super diligent in her work and strives always to be the best Call Taker she can be. Her commitment is inspiring!
Stephanie Young, Support Officer, Community Welfare Responders (CWR) Steph is an amazing support officer. She is always at the end of the phone when called or even comes to help you at the drop of a hat. She gives all her spare time to #TeamWAST in so many ways, not only as a Community Welfare Responder and Community First Responder, but she also trains our team to the highest standard. She makes us all feel valued and cared for. She so deserves to be recognised for this.
Meryl Jones, Interim Quality Audit Manager
Meryl should be considered for this award for her unwavering commitment and dedication to #TeamWAST, to the Operations Quality team, and most importantly to our patients. Meryl took on a secondment role back in April 2023 as the Medical Priority Dispatch System (MPDS) Facilitator to assist Michelle Perry, who we sadly lost later that year. Following Michelle's passing, it has been challenging for the Trust, particularly in the Operations Quality department, just to continue without her. Meryl has not only had to step up and motivate and inspire the team to simply just re-adjust without Michelle, but also had to re-adjust her own life without a good friend. Meryl is a true professional and genuinely cares about achieving and providing excellent quality work and in return, care for our patients.
Kara Walsh, ICT Service Desk Manager
IT is stereotypically a male-dominated industry and Kara is an excellent role model for women. She started as an apprentice in #TeamWAST, then became a Service Desk Analyst and is now the Service Desk Manager. It is rare to see women in IT management positions and I think Kara is a positive role model to other women in the industry of what can be achieved. Her can-do attitude means that the projects she works on are fulfilled to a high standard, even if that means contributing some of her time. She is encouraging all in her team, for example, pushing all in the department to achieve the latest ITIL accreditation which will ensure the latest proven standards in the industry for IT service management are being followed in WAST. Under her leadership, many have progressed and achieved their goals.
Elen Mon Jones, Duty Call Taker Supervisor
Elen is the epitome of this award and what it represents. Elen can support the team under continuous demand and pressure.
Hannah Davies (Rawlins), Health and Safety Advisor
Hannah has been a fantastic Health and Safety Advisor in North Wales. She has supported Managers through risk assessment and first aid needs assessments as well as various other issues. She has taught new #TeamWAST members in induction sessions and completed a Level 6 health and safety qualification. She inspires me with her drive and determination to be the best she can be.
Dave (Roy) Carter, Paramedic
As a Student Nurse Paramedic from a new cohort of clinicians, I am in the first cohort in the UK. None of the students had worked within #TeamWAST but I decided to take the plunge, not truly knowing what I was about to walk into and was terrified. The support I received was exceptional as a student in a new program. I have had many challenges and at times wanted to leave because I felt I wasn’t good enough or I was feeling low. This all changed when I met Dave Carter at Dobshill. On the first day, I was very apprehensive during my drive to the station, I felt sick not knowing who or what I was walking into. It was my past anxiety coming to haunt me. As my mentor, Dave was non-judgemental and supportive; he inspired me to be great and proceed to the end of my degree. He didn’t see the differences in our uniforms (blue and green), he saw me for me and the clinician I could be, and how our roles blended harmoniously together to achieve one goal: safe, effective, compassionate patient care, and at times exceeding expectations with a pinch of humour to reassure the patient but also me. Now I use his wisdom daily in practice, which benefits all my patients and families. I’m sure if they also knew how I gained from his knowledge they would also be truly grateful. His empathetic nature towards his patients was evident from the first day we met.
Simon Woods, Non-Emergency Patient Transport Service Care Assistant
Simon has been an exemplary colleague since the moment I met him. He goes above and beyond within his work role as well as personal support for every colleague. He is always making sure that morale does not slip and does so much for the staff at Dobshill, nothing is ever a bother to Si ‘Woo’. He always has a smile on his face no matter what time of the day or night it is, he always checks in to see if you’re ok and if you need help with anything. He has organised various charity events in support of a colleague and has given up many hours of his time raising money and gathering the cavalry to fight for them. He is a breath of fresh air to be around, especially with what our job entails. If he ever helps you out, all he asks is that you pass the favour out and help someone else in return. Simon inspires others to be their best every single day.