Press release provided by WellChild
Julie Bayliss has been named as a winner in the prestigious national 2011 WellChild Awards and will be off to collect her prize in London in August having been nominated by her colleague Sarah Crawshaw.
Julie, who is the Head of Nursing for the Infection, Cancer and Immunity Unit at Great Ormond Street Hospital, London and Lead Nurse for Paediatric Cancer across North London, was picked from hundreds of nominations from across the UK to win the category of Best Nurse, which is sponsored by GlaxoSmithKline, in these Awards which celebrate the courage of children coping with serious illnesses or complex conditions and honour the dedication of professionals who go the extra mile to help sick children and their families. The Awards are run by WellChild, the national charity for sick children.
Julie will be one of the stars of the show at August’s high profile Awards ceremony, which has been attended over the past few years by many of WellChild’s celebrity supporters, including Royal Patron Prince Harry.
Julie started work at Great Ormond Street (GOSH) in October 1994 as a ward sister on the Haematology / Oncology daycare ward. Over the past 15 years Julie has been an integral part of the Haematology / Oncology team. She has developed into the Head of Nursing for the Infection, Cancer and Immunity Unit at GOSH as well as Lead Nurse for Paediatric Cancer across North London. Julie has led on many pivotal changes within the ICI Unit including sourcing much needed funding; supporting senior nurses to enable fantastic patient care as well as staff satisfaction; acting as lead nurse for reducing risks, medication errors and infection across the unit. She has developed a weekly parent tea and fortnightly parent forum, allowing distressed families a haven and support network during a very difficult time. She has endeavoured to recruit, retain and inspire a new generation of paediatric oncology nurses to create the safest and most comforting environment for patients.
Sarah said: “Julie is truly the ‘woman behind the scenes’, the one without whom the service would not be what it is. I have worked with Julie for nearly three years and truly value her as a colleague, friend and fountain of knowledge. Having witnessed her contribution to the team and the importance of this on patient care over the past three years I would love for Julie to receive the recognition which she deserves (and never acknowledges herself).”
Last year, commenting on the impact of the WellChild Award winners and the work of the charity, Prince Harry gave a speech in which he said: “Your courage and spirit is a lesson to us all. I feel honoured to be Patron of this amazing charity, WellChild. The charity really does make a huge difference to so many children and families across the country.”
With hundreds of nominations received from across the country, the difficult job of choosing winners in all 15 WellChild Award categories is given, each year, to an esteemed panel of judges. That panel consists of members of parliament, leading health professionals and others with an interest in children’s health.
WellChild’s Director of Programmes, Linda Partridge, is also a member of that panel. She said: “It is a tremendous challenge to select winners from the many, many truly amazing nominations we receive from all over the country. All the panel members are moved by the bravery of the children, the stories of selfless care and support and the dedication of the doctors, nurses, teachers, brothers and sisters who make a great difference to the lives of sick children. Julie truly deserves to be the winner of this award.
“The Awards are a perfect demonstration of WellChild’s commitment to helping as many seriously ill children and their families as we can through our programmes of care, support and research and embody our aim of raising awareness of the needs of people who are too often overlooked.”
Julie will receive her award at the seventh Annual WellChild Awards ceremony on 31st August at the InterContinental London Park Lane Hotel.
At this star-studded event, Julie will meet a host of WellChild celebrity supporters, who attend each year to celebrate the courage of brave children and honour the dedicated work of the country’s health professionals. In addition to Royal Patron, Prince Harry, previous WellChild Award evenings have been attended by rock legend Rod Stewart with his wife Penny Lancaster Stewart, footballer Jermain Defoe, pop band Scouting for Girls, Dancing on Ice star Laura Hamilton, Duncan Bannatyne, BBC presenter Chris Hollins and many more.
The 2011 WellChild Awards have been made possible by sponsorship from the following organisations:
AXA PPP Healthcare; BMI Healthcare; Danone Actimel; GlaxoSmithKline; Healthcare at Home Ltd; InterContinental London Park Lane; Next Plc; Royce Peeling Green
Contact information:
GOSH-ICH Press Office: 020 7239 3125
Email: Coxs@gosh.nhs.uk
For genuine and urgent out of hours call speak to switchboard on 020 7405 9200
