Honouring 700 years of NHS excellence

28 Guy's and St Thomas' staff have been honoured in a special ceremony celebrating their long-standing commitment to the Trust. They have all contributed at least 25 years of dedicated service to the NHS, adding up to 700 years of care in total.

Suying Man (known as Su), an ear, nose and throat (ENT) clinical nurse specialist at Evelina London, celebrated 25 years of service. Su began her nursing career at Guy's Hospital before becoming a staff nurse and deputy ward manager on Evelina London Children's Hospital's Mountain ward, and then an ENT clinical nurse specialist in 2009. As part of the celebrations, Su's team said a heartfelt thank you for her exceptional contributions. They spoke about her working consistently and with integrity, bringing calm reassurance to children and young people and their families.

Su said: "I am so proud to be making a difference to the lives of our tracheostomy patients and their families, and supporting them to safely go home. It's just so rewarding to see parents and carers grow in confidence in caring for their child with the specialist skills that I have taught them, which they often would not believe that they could do themselves at the beginning of their hospital journey.

"I love working with such a brilliant team. They are friendly, supportive and approachable. We all have different skills that complement one another and we share the same goal to provide a high standard of care for our patients and families."

Lynette Thornton, a children's community physiotherapist, was honoured for working in Evelina London's community physiotherapy service for over 25 years. Lynette has now retired, and her colleagues have said her absence and will be felt across Southwark and Lambeth. They reflected on how she built strong relationships with families, supported colleagues with care, and consistently made a difference without seeking recognition.

The Long Service Awards, which are funded by Guy's & St Thomas' Charity, recognise the outstanding commitment of long-serving staff at the Trust. Recipients were presented with awards by Chief Executive Professor Ian Abbs.