Awards ceremony for SAS doctors

Understanding the role of a SAS doctor and how hard it is for doctors to take time out of the clinical environment, the trust wanted to create an event which amplified the workforce to stakeholders as well as reward them for their hard work. 

Working closely with the communications department, the event followed a similar concept of the trust’s all-staff awards where nominations are made, and categories aligned with trust values. Flyers were created to promote the event and handed out throughout the organisation, emails were sent to all staff, screensavers were added to trust computers and the SAS advocate visited departments to engage with her peers. This helped with stakeholder engagement and ensured the event was well publicised. Nominations were collected for around twelve weeks and a judging panel was formed using an existing template created for the trust awards. The trust employs around 52 SAS doctors and received a total of 32 nominations from consultants, operational managers, and others.  

The event was held at a hotel which was booked twelve months in advance and organising the event itself took around three months. Approximately 80 people attend the awards night, including the trust’s chair and chief executive. The nominated SAS doctors were able to invite family and friends to celebrate with them and those that attended spoke of a real sense of celebration and pride which has continued within the trust.  

The event was well received and there was a sense of excitement before, during and after. People were talking about SAS doctors in a way that the trust had never seen before which was one of the desired outcomes. There were six categories, and the winner of each category received an engraved crystal trophy, and an educational fund prize awarded to the winner upon submission of a study application to medical education. This has helped individuals access enhanced learning, such as leadership training and has changed how they approach their next academic year, helping to shape their future. It has given them the opportunity to embark on different paths, ones that perhaps would have been harder to achieve otherwise. 

The quality of nominations was extremely high and there was a lot of emotion and sense of pride throughout the evening. The level of engagement from stakeholders far exceeded what was originally expected and the event was a great way of illustrating what the trust’s SAS doctors are capable of and have them recognised across the organisation.  

The team attempted to evaluate the event by creating QR codes and putting them on the tables during the evening however, there was little response, perhaps because everyone was having so much fun. A washup meeting was held and there are actions from this including what will be improved next year.  

Agreement from the chief executive was needed and given the sensitivities of industrial action at the time and financial constraints, there were concerns that the event could be negatively portrayed by other staff groups. It was important that everyone involved was comfortable with the decisions made and there were open and honest conversations. We worked through the pros and cons and financial concerns were lessened as the trust used its SAS development monies to fund the event.  

The organisers were conscious that an event specifically for a particular staff group could be perceived negatively but equally, it’s important that affirmative action is taken and there is parity of esteem. The national conversation for SAS doctors talks about better comprehension and understanding of what it is to be a SAS doctor and holding an event like this during SAS week supported the national messaging. The trust’s local NHS England Workforce, Training and Education directorate offered support of the event and worked closely with the associate dean who was kept informed of progress.