The dedicated employees of the Department of Health and Social Development at the Louis Trichardt Memorial Hospital were honoured with certificates and trophies in recognition of their hard work at the excellence awards ceremony that was held at the hospital premises of Louis Trichardt Town last Friday.

According to the deputy manager of clinical support services, Mr Rax Magampa, the main objective of the excellence awards was to acknowledge employees who have put extra efforts into their duties. He added that the excellence awards are held in line with the Batho-Pele “putting people first” principles.

Mr Richard Manganyi, a waste collector and mortuary worker, was named the best employee of the year. A nurse in the hospital’s general ward, Maggie van Tonder, and  maternity ward assistance nurse Rinah Munyai were both nominated as the best Batho-Pele officers.

During the event, 37 employees received awards in the long-service category and three for retired employees. Other categories in which employees where awarded certificates ranged from finance, house keeping, clinical services and maintenance to information and records.

Addressing the recipients of the excellence awards during the event, the monitoring and evaluations manager of the Limpopo Department of Health and Social Development, Dr Norah Mongwe, said that the awards were given because of evidence of providing quality services to the patients. “Employees are rewarded based on what the patients perceive as good quality at the hospital, which includes accessibility to care, good communication with patients, safety, comfort and prevention of clinical errors.”

Receiving his award, the overall winner, Mr Richard Manganyi, indicated that he was very happy and the award was like a Christmas gift to him. “I don’t know what to say, but I am very happy that I managed to scoop this award. It is indeed a very special day of my life today,” he said.