A member of staff at The Robert Jones and Agnes Hunt Orthopaedic Hospital (RJAH), who went above and beyond to ensure patients could still have their appointments with clinicians during the coronavirus pandemic, has been named the latest recipient of the Health Hero Award.

Bobby Claxton, Outpatient Resource Team Leader at the Oswestry-based hospital, was nominated for the award by colleague Mark Lowe, Operational Manager for Outpatients and Access.

Mark said: “Over the past few months Bobby has worked tirelessly to support the Attend Anywhere virtual clinics project and nothing has been too much trouble.

“He has set clinics up, called patients, trained consultants and staff alike both face-to-face and through Microsoft Teams.”

Following the outbreak of coronavirus, the NHS had to accelerate video consultations within Trusts to reduce unnecessary physical attendances to hospital. The Attend Anywhere platform allowed clinicians to still see their patients and carry on with care and treatment plans.

Mark added: “He has worked with various departments across the hospital to give them a bespoke service when setting them up with Attend Anywhere.

“Bobby is an individual who happily works in the background to make everyone else’s life that little bit better. His can-do attitude has made it a pleasure to work with him, and I’m very proud to be his colleague.”

It was presented by Acting Chief Executive Stacy Keegan and announced at the monthly Board of Directors meeting today.

Bobby said: “I’m super pleased to have been nominated for the Health Hero Award, and while I’m grateful, I’m also a little shocked to have won it!

“I’m thankful to all the staff that I’ve had the opportunity to work with over the past few months, and while it has been a difficult time, it’s been really interesting to work with different individuals and departments when I may not have had the opportunity to do so in the past.”

Stacey said: “Bobby has been instrumental to ensuring we carry on delivering patient care during the coronavirus pandemic, and he is a great example of being innovative and going above and beyond in times of emergency.

“I’m delighted to announce him as September’s winner of the Health Hero Award.”

Pictured: From left, Stacey Keegan, Acting Chief Executive; Mark Lowe, Operational Manager for Outpatients and Access (middle, back); and Bobby Claxton, Outpatient Resource Team Leader.