Hospital Communications Team Do the Double

“We are lucky to work with so many amazing people”... the words of the Communications Team at Plymouth Hospitals after becoming double award-winners at a prestigious industry awards ceremony.

The Communications Team, based at Derriford Hospital, was shortlisted in two categories, Not for-Profit Campaign and Public Sector Campaign, in the Chartered Institute of Public Relations (CIPR) PRide Awards 2013 for the South West.

At a black-tie dinner in Bristol on Friday, the Communications Team was named Gold Winner in both categories in recognition of the work team members did with colleagues to successfully move the Royal Eye Infirmary from a Victorian building in Mutley to new facilities at Derriford Hospital.

Head of Communications Amanda Nash said: “We were thrilled when it was announced we were winners of the first award and it’s no exaggeration to say we were speechless when the second award came our way too. That’s not something that happens to us often!

“We are extremely proud of the work we did in communicating with patients and staff around the move of the Royal Eye Infirmary. It’s great to see this work recognised within our industry as best-practice. But although we are named as the winners on the gongs, these awards really belong to a much wider team at the hospital including colleagues from the REI and Planning, who worked together to successfully move a hospital. Thank you to them.

“Winning these awards and hearing the lovely, kind words of praise and support from colleagues and friends both inside and outside of the hospital, has just reminded us how lucky we are to work in such an amazing place with so many amazing people.”

The CIPR PRide Awards receive entries from freelancers, consultancies and in-house teams across 12 UK regions and nations. T

he judging process for the PRide Awards is rigorous with a national panel of industry experts assessing the shortlisted entries and choosing the winners.

The 2013 Chairs of Judges, Gill Dandy FCIPR, Senior Consultant at The Centre for Strategy and Communication, and Chris Genasi FCIPR, Senior Consultant at APCO Worldwide, assisted in ensuring a fair and consistent judging process.

CIPR President Sue Wolstenholme FCIPR, commented: “The South West CIPR PRide Awards celebrate the very best public relations campaigns, teams and individuals from across the South West. The exceptional quality of entries received this year is a real testament to the thriving industry which exists here in the South West. The CIPR PRide Awards represent the best, most creative and most effective public relations work across the UK regions and nations and to win an award is a great achievement.”

The CIPR PRide Awards is the only UK wide awards scheme that recognises excellence in public relations and communications work across Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and the English regions. Now in its 10th year the CIPR PRide Awards grow year-on-year as consultancies and organisations increasingly recognise the benefits of industry awards, and past winners continue to reap the benefits of receiving one.