North
West NHS Heroes unveiled by BBC . . .
Your
NHS Day - Wednesday 20 February
Three
"BBC NHS Heroes" are carrying the flag for the North West
region - with one of them chosen by viewers to take part in a national
final on Wednesday 20 February.
The
idea is to give recognition to those people who have shown a spirit
of excellence and high standards of care within the NHS.
All
the English regions, as well as Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales,
have three final nominations. And in the North West, viewers of
BBC North West Tonight have had the opportunity to vote for the
one they want to represent the region in the national final in London
on 20 February as part of the BBC’s Your NHS Day.
The
three North West nominations chosen were:
* Lorraine
Wade, who works in the mental health field in Blackpool.
* Steve
Evans, who works as a paramedic in Runcorn, Cheshire.
* Dr
Gerry O’Shea, who works as a GP helping the homeless in Manchester.
(Lives in Marple, Cheshire).
Lorraine
Wade
A
mum with two young boys, Lorraine works as a Volunteer Manager at
Blackpool, Wyre and Fylde Community health Services NHS Trust. She
started as a hairdresser but after seeing a friend go through a
nervous breakdown she became a volunteer on a local mental health
helpline. Eventually,
she ran the service and took up full-time employment helping those
with mental health problems. She
was nominated for the BBC NHS Heroes for her unstinting work in
providing new and imaginative support services, in particular the
counselling service for in-patients in the greater Blackpool area.
Steve
Evans
Steve,
married with one child, is a community paramedic in Runcorn, Cheshire,
working for the Mersey Ambulance Service. He
has countless commendations for his work in the community and for
his out-of-work commitments. BBC
North West Tonight viewers were given an insight into his whole-hearted
professional and personal approach as they learned of his astonishing
number of ambulance service awards, including saving a baby. The
baby had drowned and showed no signs of life when Steve arrived
on the scene. But he persevered until, against the odds, the baby
was revived. He
also pioneered the idea of locally going out into the community
to talk to local groups, giving first aid training in his own time.
Dr
Gerry O’Shea
Dr
O’Shea is 37, married with two boys and lives in Marple, near
Stockport. He
works as a GP for North Manchester Primary Care Trust in Miles Platting
but also pioneered a GP service for the homeless of Manchester.
From
a surgery in Swan Street, near Manchester city centre, he broke
the Catch 22 situation whereby the homeless were denied registration
with a doctor because they had no fixed address. Dr O’Shea
made sure this requirement did not bar them from seeing him and
the word spread. His
original nomination said he was "one of the most dedicated
GPs I’ve ever met."
Notes to Editors
This
is all part of a larger BBC Your NHS Day, with network, regional
and local programmes reflecting this throughout the day on TV and
radio.
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