Celebrating 150 years of caring for children and young people
Posted on Friday 1st February 2019
Sir Hugh Taylor, Chairman, and Amanda Pritchard, Chief Executive of Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust, celebrating with our first Evelina 150 Stars – Dana Aryan-Warren and our phlebotomy team.
Evelina London has kicked off 150th anniversary celebrations with staff, launching a short film and announcing Evelina 150 Stars awards.
Staff across Evelina London celebrated the beginning of a year of activities to mark 150 years since the original Evelina Hospital for Sick Children opened on Southwark Bridge Road.
A short film made in celebration of the milestone year shows children and young people cared for by Evelina London talking about what makes it so special and why our staff make such a big difference to their lives.
At a celebration event, Sir Hugh Taylor, Chairman, and Amanda Pritchard, Chief Executive of Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust, presented the first Evelina 150 Stars awards. Our new ‘Evelina 150 Stars’ award scheme is running throughout 2019 and has been created to recognise outstanding Evelina London staff.
Sir Hugh thanked all staff for their contribution, and reflected: “We have a great tradition of wonderful staff at Evelina London. It was true when it was founded and it’s true today. It’s really great to be able to honour our staff for the amazing work they do caring for children and young people. All of the award winners should feel immensely proud of their achievements.”
Dana Aryan-Warren, palliative care pathway coordinator, was nominated by her own team and received recognition as an Evelina London Star for working over and above what would be expected to ensure that the needs of the service and the wellbeing of children are maintained at all times.
Dana, who has worked at Evelina London since 2016, said: “I am honoured and absolutely flattered to be the first to win this award. I do work hard for the team but I honestly have been motivated by the incredible dedication, hard work and support from the clinical team. I am very close to them and had no idea they had nominated me.”
The children’s phlebotomy (blood test) team picked up the first team award for their patience, kindness, caring and all that they do to reassure young patients. The team were nominated by a staff member who also brings their child to Evelina London for treatment. They said: “I have watched them over the last two years and they are each able to deal with whatever comes their way, always with a smile and a kind word for the children.”
Find out more about our January winners.
The next awards will be announced at a special event to celebrate with Evelina London community staff.
Miranda Jenkins, Director of Strategy at Evelina London, said: “150 years ago Evelina London was born out of love, when in memory of his beloved wife and child, Baron Ferdinand de Rothschild created a lifeline for the poorest and most vulnerable children. Since 1869 we have been saving lives, improving health and inspiring better futures. This year, we will be celebrating everything about Evelina London from our extraordinary history to the everyday and specialist care we provide today. We’re looking forward to a year of fun, bringing together our amazing staff, incredible families and brilliant supporters.”
No birthday celebration is complete without a cake, and staff enjoyed a three-tiered Victoria sponge kindly donated by the Mandarin Oriental Hotel and designed around the new Evelina London anniversary edition logo, incorporating a pink balloon.
New fundraising initiative, Challenge 150, was also launched at the event. Throughout 2019, staff, patients and families alike are encouraged to take part in a challenge to help raise money and make our birthday year really count. Find out more and sign up to take on your own challenge on the Support Evelina London website.
Watch our film and find out more about what’s planned to mark 150 years of Evelina London.