Maternity Care Assistant Kerry Ryland from Gloucestershire Royal Hospital has won a Cavell Star Award for going above and beyond for her patients.
Midwife and colleague Kerrie Booth explains why Kerry is such a worthy winner,
“Kerry had always dreamed of being a Maternity Care Assistant (MCA), and as there were no available jobs, she spent years as a volunteer on the ward, coming in during her spare time to help out with ward tidying, making drinks for the patients and staff, chatting to the women, and generally doing all she could to help.
“She finally got her opportunity to interview for an MCA post, and joined us in 2019. She classes this date as “the best day of her life”.
“Since joining us in 2019, Kerry has been a breath of fresh air on the ward. Her bubbly, happy attitude never wanes and she brings fun and light to every shift. No matter how busy she is, or how frantic the pace of work on the ward, she is positive, full of fun and has boundless energy.
“She sings her way through the day (or night) and always brings a smile to the rest of the team. She consistently goes above and beyond for the women, she makes their care her absolute priority and treats them all with individuality, learning their names, the name of their new baby, and the wider family.
“She loves working back to back shifts so that she can give seamless care to the women. Her passion is in breastfeeding, and gets a real buzz from helping women to successfully feed their baby. The women adore her, she receives constant praise and thankyous because she really does care about them and it shows. Kerry really is a delight to be around, and we could all benefit from a dose of her infectious vivacity!”