Victoria Gilbert wins May’s Exceptional People Individual Award

Trauma Risk Management (TRiM) Manager Vikki Gilbert wins May’s Exceptional People Individual Award - for her calm, kind and grounded approach, making the ward a much safer and positive place.

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Victoria said:

‘’I was so shocked to of been nominated and to be chosen as the winner. I am proud to be a nurse and to help, care and advocate for others. Evenlode ward itself will forever be a special place, but I am very much enjoying my new role as TRiM Manager for the forensic directorate. I get to keep on championing kindness towards others and ourselves whilst focusing on supporting staff wellbeing across the forensic services. Staff do amazing jobs in often challenging circumstances and to be part of supporting our staff through this is a privilege. Thank you so much.’’

The nomination

Vikki was nominated by two of her colleagues, Healthcare Assistant Kathy Mckee and Forensic Services Administrator Kaye Thorne. Vikki has worked for the NHS for 20 years and recently left her job as the Evenlode Ward Manager to join the TRiM team. These nominations reflect Vikki’s time on the ward.

Kathy commented:

“Vikki is the kindest person you could ever meet. She is an amazing role model, her motto is treating everyone with kindness – when she works with staff patients and family members, I am in awe of her. It makes me driven to be more like her.

“Vikki has made a big difference to Evenlode Ward. She has made changes to how we approach and work with our patients, she has driven hard to educate staff around the PBS approach, her passion to seek out the best outcome for our patients is a breath of fresh air. For me it’s the kindness that she has brought to the ward. Our patients looked forward to her coming onto the ward and spending time with them, she would make time for everyone – for example joining them at lunch times and giving meals times a community feel. She found it very important to bring family, friends and carers together to listen and engage with them as important people in the patient’s life, gaining as much insight to help us understand and relate to the patients we support. She has practised and delivered some of the best care I have ever witnessed.

“Her commitment to Evenlode was a pleasure to be part of and to watch, committed to support, listen and give the patients the best outcome and life they could possibly have. She would explore different avenues and seek out as much information she could to bring the team and the patients the best support. For example, she bought the HOPE team on board to develop the team’s understanding Autism, a great help to colleagues and most importantly better care for patients.”

Kaye added:

“During her time on Evenlode, Vikki always had the most positive influence on both the team and patients. This positivity is truly inspiring, and she was always there to both listen and support. She always made the patients and staff feel that they came first and any problem would be listened to and reacted upon immediately. Managing such a large team cannot have been easy at times, but Vikki never let that show – I have never met somebody before who always had a smile on their face. Team meetings always ended with a positive note from all who attended them, and it was never a problem to find something positive to say.

“Vikki had an open-door approach, and no problem was too big or too small. We were extremely lucky to have her manage us; she led the team with support, empathy and complete efficiency.”

Published: 14 July 2025