Congratulations to our Critical Care, a Touch of Gentleness Team at Conquest Hospital for winning our Hero of the Month award.
Critical care team being presented with their award by Chairman Steve Phoenix
One of their nominations said: “The ‘Touch of Gentleness’ project brought a healing touch back to critical care when we needed it most. The team developed a hand massage initiative programme to for ITU patients to address pain, agitation, delirium, immobility, and sleep disruption through therapeutic human connection.
“What makes this exceptional is their evidence-based approach to something so fundamentally human. They didn’t just introduce a feel-good intervention – they created measurable protocols that address multiple clinical challenges simultaneously.”
Another nomination said: “I am nominating Critical Care: A Touch of Gentleness team because the project goes beyond expectations in making sure kindness and humanity is incorporated in the care of our critically ill patients. They trained staff across sites, developed a system incorporating hand massages to daily routine, and measured real outcomes.
“Their dedication shows in the amount of years the project has been up and running. This wasn’t a quick initiative – they’ve built something lasting that transforms how we connect with our most vulnerable patients. They have presented as well at the Critical Care Conference in East Kent, and have made a pledge in helping staff wellness by participating in the hospital’s “Celebrating You” programme and did, for two years in a row, a Valentines’ Day Hand Massage project for the hospital staff. This is dedication to kindness which is a core value of the trust.
“They’ve proven that simple human touch can be as powerful as our most sophisticated medical interventions. The most powerful feedback that we have received from one of our ITU patients is: ‘It made me feel human and safe at a time I was scared and uncertain’. I do think that this is worthy of a nomination for Hero of the Month.”
Well done to the whole team.