Celebrating our dedicated staff!
Meet our January OPH Employee of the Quarter Award winner, Jacqui Speers, Senior Social Worker, Women’s and Newborn Service (WNB) OPH.
Jacqui was nominated by Social Work Head of Department Gianna Renshaw who described her as a collaborative member of the multidisciplinary team who consistently works to ensure the best outcomes for patients.
Jacqui is highly committed to her work with vulnerable patients and their babies in the OPH WNB service. Jacqui, along with her colleagues is always very thorough in providing social work expertise and managing complex cases involving complicated psychosocial factors. Her work is often centred around advocating for mothers’ rights, at the same time as having to assess any risk factors for their babies and other children.
Recently, Jacqui was involved in a sensitive, complex case that required intensive social work intervention. Jacqui worked extremely hard with her patient, their family and staff to ensure the safety of the mother and baby prior to discharge.
Jacqui deserves recognition for demonstrating the NMHS values each and every day in her actions and attitude.
Jacqui always prioritises the care of vulnerable women and advocates for their rights. This includes education to staff about the disadvantages and helplessness faced by these women.
Regardless of her patients’ behaviour, Jacqui always respects them as individuals and is always able to develop some level of working relationship through developing rapport and being empathetic, respectful and concerned.
Jacqui constantly reviews her practice and is always coming up with innovative ways to engage with patients who can sometimes be reluctant to have social work support.
She works very closely with her multidisciplinary team and her social work team to ensure the best outcomes for patients and uses excellent communication to ensure psychosocial circumstances and the barriers they may place on the management of the patient, are understood by team members.
Jacqui always professionally assesses and prioritises the needs of her patients and will always put these first. Her own needs are quite often compromised due to her working longer hours as she strives to achieve the best outcomes for her patients.
Clearly, the judges were impressed and also agreed!
Congratulations Jacqui, you deserve this recognition. Thank you for living our NMHS values and putting our patients at the centre of all you do!
Jacqui and her colleagues celebrated at an afternoon tea where she was presented with a $150 gift voucher from our sponsors.
A special thanks to our generous sponsors: HESTA, Paywise, Smartsalary and StatePlus.
If you've had a great experience with one of our staff members why not put them forward for an award? Next time you are onsite ask how you can submit a nomination.