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Doctors, nurses and other health professionals at Doncaster and Bassetlaw Teaching Hospitals (DBTH) were treated to a trip at the Yorkshire Wildlife Park as a special thank you.

The fun event held last Saturday (September 25) was funded by charitable donations and organised to give staff recognition of their efforts throughout the pandemic.

Richard Parker OBE, chief executive of DBTH said the trip was a ‘small gensure but the least they could do for their ‘amazing team’.

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Doncaster and Bassetlaw Teaching Hospitals colleagues enjoying a day at Yorkshire Wildlife Park with their families

Mr Parker said: “We wanted to recognise these truly heroic contributions during the pandemic, and we thought the Yorkshire Wildlife Park provided the perfect opportunity for this.”

During the event, the winners of ‘special recognition’ awards, nominated by other staff from various hospital departments, received animal experiences for going above and beyond.

The experiences, sponsored by a range of businesses who wanted to show their support to their NHS staff, gave the lucky winners the opportunity to feed and tend to animals within their enclosures, including wallabies, otters, meerkats and giraffes.

Rebecca Blanshard, who works in Doncaster’s Emergency Department, was named as the Trust’s ‘Mentor of the Year’ and shared her meet-the-meerkats experience with her two young children who supported their mum as she worked on the front line during the pandemic.

Rebecca Blanshard and her two children meeting the meerkats

Rebecca was nominated for the award by her colleagues who recognised the extra effort she put into making new-comers to the department feel supported and settled, despite the challenges of working in a high-pressure environment and the additional pressures presented by Covid-19.

Rebecca said: “I was so humbled and pleased to be recognised and to hear that our students and new starters in the Emergency Department felt supported and well looked after.

“It was a great day and a wonderful opportunity to spend some quality time with our families all together after a demanding and challenging time.”

Richard Parker said: “This day was made possible by the support of the communities we serve and the generosity of our sponsors and the Yorkshire Wildlife Park.

“We’d like to thank everyone who made a charitable donation, big or small and to all of our sponsors.”

Bassetlaw Hospital staff celebrate their hard work with animal fun at Yorkshire Wildlife Park