STAFF on Ysbyty Gwynedd’s Children’s Ward have been recognised for going the extra mile to provide care and support to the family of a child with complex care needs.

The staff on Dewi Ward received a Betsi Star award from Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board chief executive Gary Doherty after being nominated by Oswyn Williams and Sarah Williams.

In August 2016, their son Jack was born at 26 weeks old at less than 1kg in weight.

He underwent twin to twin transfusion syndrome surgery at 23 weeks gestation. Sadly his brother, Harry, didn’t survive.

He is now 20 months old and has complex care needs due to his extreme prematurity and problems in the first days of his life.

He has hydrocephalus and severe cerebral palsy as well as brain damage. He will need ongoing care for the rest of his life.

His father, Oswyn, said his family, who live in Rhostrehwfa on Anglesey, wouldn’t have been able to get through these difficult times without the support of staff on Dewi Ward.

He said: “The care required takes a lot of our time away from Tomos, his older brother who, at three years old, is at a critical stage in his emotional as well as physical development; and Dewi Ward staff have provided us with the time we need to spend with Tomos whenever we needed it.

“My wife and I will never be able to thank them enough for the dedication and care they provided to our family as a whole.

“Jack was nasogastric fed two hourly for ten months until January this year when he finally had his feeding tube fitted.

“This has had a very positive impact on his feeding routine and we are working closely with the Dietitian to increase his feeds and the time between his feeds.

“The nurses on Dewi Ward have played a massive part in this whole process due to the support they provided us during the investigations into why he could not tolerate feeds very well.”

Jack has been admitted to the ward around 20 times in the last year and his mother, Sarah, says this award recognises the work and dedication provided by the staff to not only patients, but their families as well.

Sarah says she will always be grateful to the staff for saving the life of her son following a severe choking attack last year.

She said: “We were on our way to the hospital to get a new inhaler for Jack and he began to have a massive choking episode in the back of the car. He’d stopped breathing by the time we got to the hospital door – everything happened so quickly but the nurses reacted so fast.

“We could have lost him that day but the staff on the ward saved his life which we will be forever grateful for, they are like a second family to us.”

Ward manager, Nerys Pritchard, said her team were touched by the kind words of the family and their award nomination.

She said: “On behalf of the staff I would like to thank Oswyn and Sarah for nominating the team on Dewi Ward.

“It was very emotional for us all to receive such a special thank you from the family, who we have become very close with over the last year.

“I would like to thank the team for their continued dedication – they truly are a fantastic group to work with. They fully deserve this award for all the hard work they do to provide the best care for our young patients at Ysbyty Gwynedd.”

Mr Doherty, added: “Congratulations to the team on Dewi Ward.

“The care and support the staff have provided, and continue to provide, to little Jack and his family is truly outstanding and this is a very well deserved award.”