Selfless staff, members and volunteers at University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust (UHB) have been honoured for their dedication at a glittering awards evening.

The Trust, which runs the Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham (QEHB), celebrated its annual Best in Care Awards on Thursday 20 October 2011.

The special ceremony, held at Tally Ho in Edgbaston, was compered by radio personality Dave Clarke, with certificates and prizes awarded by celebrities including broadcaster and poet Charlie Jordan and former England footballer Geoff Thomas. Patients who have undergone life-saving treatment at the hospital also presented honours.

Many of the hundreds of nominations received this year came from patients with examples of staff going the extra mile to make them feel special.

Patient Nicola Abel put forward nursing staff Gill Bodley and Joanna Bowden, who won Patient Carer of the Year Award, in recognition of “their compassion and undivided attention” throughout her battle with breast cancer.

Joanna said: “I’m surprised and very proud to be given this award. I am very lucky to have met some wonderful patients and caring for them has been a pleasure. To win a Best in Care Award and be acknowledged in this special way is a real honour.”

The Radiotherapy department scooped the Charity Supporter of the Year award after raising more than £7,000 through a variety of fundraising drives, including a sponsored skydive, to help the patients they care for.

In addition to the billed awards, former soldier Karl Hinett, aged 24, won an Outstanding Achievement Award for his devotion to fundraising for the QEHB Charity.

Karl, who was badly burned while serving in Iraq and is running 52 marathons around the world this year to raise money to support patients, said: “I am humbled and honoured to receive this brilliant award which is extremely unexpected. It is particularly special to me because it’s from the hospital team that have enabled me to do what I’m doing now. They saved my life and supported me through countless operations for more than five years. I want to give something back to the hospital’s official charity to thank them. This award is for them.”

In a dramatic twist, the Chairman’s Employee of the Year award was presented to both Jacqui Peel for her outstanding customer service to patients and visitors arriving in the new hospital and Sajan Khosla, Principal Clinical Informatician.

Daniel Ray, director of informatics explained in a video message that Sajan had created a highly advanced analytical tool called Healthcare Evaluation Data, adding that “the results have been so successful that the tool has now been commercialised to benefit other healthcare providers across the UK.”

One of the most poignant moments of the night involved the Liver Outpatients department, who received the Care Quality Award from liver patient Kate Trevener for their exemplary care and compassion. During the ceremony staff heard how the team had changed the lives of so many patients and reflected on the life of their friend and colleague Tina Carthy, who sadly lost her battle with a rare and aggressive form of breast cancer in November 2010, aged just 44.

UHB’s Chief Executive Julie Moore said: “Whilst the NHS is often in the news, we don’t often hear about the positive, inspirational and moving stories that truly lift our spirits. Hearing our award nominees and winners’ remarkable contributions to the care we deliver was humbling. Last night’s ceremony was a special way of publicly honouring and thanking the exceptional people who have gone the extra mile.”