UHNM’s Armed Forces Welfare Officer receives prestigious national recognition

UHNM’s dedicated Armed Forces welfare officer has received national recognition for her role in providing emotional and practical support to UK Armed Forces Community members.   

UHNM became the first hospital Trust in Staffordshire to appoint a full-time Defence Medical Welfare Service (DMWS) Officer in January this year, to provide specialist inpatient support and help with potentially quicker discharges at Royal Stoke and County hospitals. 
 
Lucy Woodward was awarded the ‘Impactful Newcomer’ award at the 2024 DMWS Staff Recognition Awards in Birmingham.  

Lucy said: “It was a lovely event to attend and get everybody from the DWMS under one roof who are normally spread all over the country. I was shocked but also very happy to win the award. You don’t do this role for recognition, you do it because you want to, but its nice to know the work I do is recognised. It’s a very busy role but we’ve reached a lot of people, and its going to go strength to strength as more become aware of the support available.”   

David Smith, Transformation Project Manager and Armed Forces Champion at UHNM, said: “This award recognises the significant positive impact Lucy has made in a relatively short period of time, and celebrates her exceptional contributions and achievements demonstrating exemplary dedication, hard work, and passion in her role.

“Her contributions have been absolutely outstanding. This award is well deserved, she has done a fantastic job here at UHNM for our Armed Forces Community patients, but also our external patients that she receives through the DMWS. We’re incredibly grateful to have Lucy, who has provided us with so much ability to communicate and support our veterans who are a fantastic asset to our nation.” 

UHNM has Veteran Aware Accreditation and is a member of the Armed Forces Covenant.