Inspiring healthcare workers from Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust secured a ‘golden ticket’ to the Royal Palace to celebrate their outstanding achievements.
One of the attendees was Lois Dobson, the Elected Governor for the Youth Forum at Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust, who attended the event which are organised annually to recognise hard working individuals who give back to their communities.
Lois said: “When I was 13 years old, I was a patient at Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital for over a year. It’s not what many teenagers have to go through, and it gave me a unique perspective to help other people”.
Lois was inspired to become more involved with the trust as a way to give back to those who helped her. Three years ago, she became a Governor at just 16-years-old and juggles many responsibilities.
She said: “At the moment, I’m a second-year medical student at the University of Edinburgh and travel back to Manchester around once a month to meet with the board and the Youth Forum. This platform is so important to give young people a voice to help shape the future of the hospital’s services and to feel engaged in their own healthcare”.
Every year, Kathy Cowell OBE, Chairman of Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust, nominates members of staff to be in with a chance of attending the Royal events in recognition of their hard work. She met with Lois, along with two other people from the trust, to inform them of the exciting news that they had been nominated and could potentially visit the Royal Palace.
Lois said: “It was such a lovely surprise to receive the invitation. I took my mum as my plus one, who works in public health herself, and we made a weekend out of it to see the Chelsea Flower Show. It was a rainy day, but it didn’t matter about the weather because it was an incredible experience to meet lots of interesting people and even managed to see Prince William”.
Ijeoma Emelone, also known as Flo, works as an Event and Facilities Receptionist in the Undergraduate and Postgraduate Centres on Oxford Road. Flo was nominated because she is highly engaged with the trust, acting as a Governor, chairing the Black Asian and Minority Ethnic Network and ran in the Greater Manchester Run as part of the ‘Blue Wave’. She has even been known to write poems for the NHS.
Flo said: “It was a beautiful day to meet so many kinds of people from different walks of life. Me and my daughter, Christine, loved every moment. Not many people can say that they have actually been in Buckingham Palace, so I feel very grateful to have been nominated by the Chairman for my contributions to the trust.
“The food was incredible and the lake on the grounds was so beautiful. One moment that I will never forget is that Queen Camilla actually came to me and shook my hand! What a wonderful occasion and an unforgettable experience”.
Geraldine Thompson, Services Lead for Clinical Photography and Medical Illustration also travelled to London for the celebrations. She said: “I have worked as a Lead Governor for three years and more than nine years as Staff Governor. I was nominated by the Chairman for my dedication to the trust and it was an honour to represent them. The experience was truly once in a lifetime”.
Representing Sodexo, who provide services for the NHS, was Liz Stott. Originally from Glasgow, Liz has worked as a Hospitality Co-ordinator at Wythenshawe Hospital for over 20 years and was nominated for always going ‘the extra mile’.
She said: “Part of my role involves organising the catering for various seminars which happen at the hospital. Normally people will just use disposable plates and cups, but I’ll always make sure to put out tablecloths and cutlery”.
Liz travelled down to the Palace with her daughter and got speaking with one of the Royal family. She said: “I was lucky enough to have a good chat with Beatrice who held my hand and didn’t let go the whole time we were speaking – she was so easy to talk to. I was very grateful just to be nominated and we had a brilliant time”.
Kathy Cowell said: “I’m delighted to hear that our representatives had such a great experience at the Royal Garden Parties. We are so fortunate to have dedicated and hard-working staff and volunteers across our trust and I wish we could put more people forward as a way of saying thank you.
Lois, Flo, Geraldine and Liz all represented Manchester incredibly well and I’ve thoroughly enjoyed looking through all their pictures”.