As part of this year’s NHS 70th birthday celebrations, staff at Prince Philip Hospital in Llanelli came together to form a special choir in recognition of the anniversary on 5 July.
The choir, aptly named ‘Hospital Notes’ entertained patients, visitors and staff throughout the day and put on a series of emotional performances. The performances were shared on social media, generating huge interest and admiration from people and other choirs from all over the world.
The idea to create a choir came from Gemma Brown, Clinical Site Manager at the hospital, who was recently awarded an ‘Employee of the Month’ award by Bernardine Rees, OBE, Chair of Hywel Dda University Health Board for all her hard work in getting the choir together.
Mrs Rees said: “This is an incredible achievement and one which I’m so very proud to recognise through this award. Gemma has put a lot of work into getting the choir together, in her own time, showing dedication and a determination to make it a success for everyone involved. She is an inspiration to us all.”
Gemma commented: “This started as an idea to celebrate ‘NHS 70’ and has grown into something phenomenal. I wish to particularly thank Cerys Bevan our Musical Director who kindly donated her time and expertise, and every single choir member for making it possible.
“Such has been the positive impact of the choir on staff well-being and creating a happy working environment, there was no question that it must continue and the choir is now open to all Hywel Dda employees. I am incredibly proud of what we have achieved in such a short time and immensely grateful for the huge team effort in making this a success.”
Gemma organised the advertisement inviting staff to join the choir and personally recruited those who came forward. She engaged musical director, Cerys Bevan, who supported the project free of charge for the duration of the practicing/performing period in recognition of the NHS 70th birthday.
She was nominated for the award by Alex Walsby, Clinical Lead Nurse at Prince Philip Hospital, who said: “We’ve seen the positive effects the choir has had within the hospital and across the Health Board. I felt impelled to nominate Gemma for this award because it’s been great for staff morale and well-being, as well as boosting working relationships and staff networking. I’ve no doubt these positive effects will transfer through to patient care in the hospital.”
Membership of the choir has been extended across the whole of Hywel Dda University Health Board, with weekly meetings starting from 28 August (7.00-9.00pm in the Thomas Arms, Llanelli), so watch this space for more ‘Hospital Notes’ performances in the future. In the meantime, the choir’s existing performances can be viewed on YouTube here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pwd5q29y_mw&list=PLXnbroX2-lntDAHLyFK4i6wJqzlFqMDzs
For the latest news and updates from Hywel Dda University Health Board visit www.hywelddahb.wales.nhs.uk
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