It’s time to meet the unsung heroes hoping to be crowned winners in the Swindon and Wiltshire Health & Care Awards 2021. As we wait with bated breath for the winners to be announced on May 27, each week in the lead-up to our virtual awards ceremony we’ll shine a light on the finalists vying for the top spot in four different categories - starting today with the Care Hero Award, Adolescent & Childcare Award, Mental Health Award and Volunteer of the Year Award. From frontline workers and nurses to mental health professionals and community stalwarts, scores of locals who showed themselves to be exceptional in the midst of the Covid crisis were put forward for the Care Hero Award.
STAFF at Great Western Hospital have spoken about the unprecedented challenge they have faced on the frontline in the fight against Covid-19. Ten months after the highly contagious disease arrived, and as the town has just been placed in Tier 4 following a rise in infections, they are still battling. Respiratory consultant Dr Anthony Kerry said: “I’ve been through flu pandemics, there was one about 11 years ago and another one about six years ago, but nothing on the scale of this in terms of the number of sick patients we are seeing. “We had to change the way we work in order to look after a very large number of patients during the first wave.