The very best of NHS care in Stockport was honoured at the Celebrating Stockport Good Practice Awards.

The awards, held at the Stepping Hill Hospital’s education centre, celebrated NHS staff working in both the hospital and the community.

One of the winners was Emily Flesk, a sister on the hospital’s critical care unit who won the ‘Creating a Healthy Culture’ award. Emily has helped patients regain many memories through the use of special ‘memory notebooks’. She has also arranged specialist musicians to play ‘live’ music in the intensive care patients to help patients recover, and has also set up and run support groups for patients who have been in intensive care.

Emily Flesk said, “We care for patients who have been through some of the most traumatic experiences imaginable, and we try to provide the best environment possible for them to recover. I was truly honoured to receive the award which belongs to the whole team.”

Held on the ‘International Day of Happiness’, the awards focussed on schemes and activities which promote health and wellbeing. 

Other winners included chief finance manager Jennifer Linde who won the ‘compassionate leadership award’, the mortuary and bereavement team who won the ‘resilient teamwork award’, the children’s unit play specialist team who won a ‘healthy environment’ and David Roberts, healthcare assistant from critical care who won a ‘special award’ from the chief executive because he was an unsung hero of the team, always compassionate towards others and an inspirational member of staff.