THE winners of this year's Hospital Heroes have been announced.

The last 18 months have been some of the toughest for our NHS, which is why it more important than ever to show them we care.

The University Hospital Southampton Super Hero Awards have now been announced, with a special award ceremony.

The Daily Echo Reader’s Choice Award was given to Dr Evan Davies, a consultant adult and paediatric spinal surgeon.

He was nominated by Rob and Kate Dickens.

They learnt their 11-year-old daughter Olivia has scoliosis and would require surgery back in 2019.

They said: "I recall her leaving the first appointment smiling after being reassured by Mr Davies that she must carry on as normal and have fun. He gave her back her childhood."

Olivia had her operation age 12 years and the outcome has far exceeded her parents expectation and they say is has been truly life-changing.

The event was held to reflect the superheroes that deserve special recognition for their work.

An online event was hosted to celebrate the winners and the awards also reflected the Trust values of Patients first, Working Together and Always Improving.

David French, chief executive officer at UHS, said: "We've had some outstanding winners amongst a very strong field of nominees, and it is wonderful to have a chance to celebrate their incredible efforts and achievements over the last 18 months.

“This year's Hospital Heroes Awards has given us an opportunity to stop for a moment and to reflect and recognise the individual and daily heroic efforts of every single one of our 12,000-strong team here at UHS.

“Their commitment to the spirit of teamwork, their relentless prioritisation of our patients and their ability to face often the seemingly impossible and then prove again and again that it wasn’t, is what has seen us through the unprecedented challenges of the pandemic.

“It is what makes UHS such a very special place to work.”

The 2021 UHS Hospital Super Heroes:

Clinical Innovation

Nathan Brendish, Tristan Clark and the Point of Care testing team)

Most Inspiring Innovator

Emma Jane Squires, patient experience and improvement manager.

Operational and Clinical Innovation

The Acute Medical Unit (AMU) nursing team

Patient Care Innovation

Molly Watts, staff nurse in the Paediatric Intensive Care Unit for her development of the Nurse Dotty book.

Patient Superhero

Hayley Rayner, ward manager on D7T

Patient Team Superheroes

The Vulnerable Adult Support Team

Best Team Player

Diana Mondo, Research and Development at UHS

Most Collaborative Team

Critical Care

Most Inspirational Leader

A joint award received by Julie Brooks, head of infection prevention at UHS and Samantha Brownsea, head of targeted lung health checks

Charity Star Award

Laura Sinclair, midwife who swam the channel and raised more than £1,000

Outstanding Volunteer

Kieran Fifield, who helped process more than 700 sunflower lanyards during the pandemic and also supported the patient support hub with technology

CEO Award

Matt Keatley and the PPE operations team, for ensuring that the correct supplies and equipment were available and delivered to the right teams to keep our staff and patients safe.

Outstanding Team Achievement Award

Pathology, the ‘unsung heroes’ who process tests to enable a patient to be diagnosed.

Outstanding Individual Achievement Award

Prof Saul Faust, director NIHR Southampton Clinical Research Facility – played a pivotal role in developing the Oxford AstraZeneca vaccine and has led the Covid Booster research study, advising the government on the safety and efficacy of a third dose.