THE matron at Evesham’s Community Hospital has been named ‘leader of the year’ at an NHS awards ceremony.

Shirley Hodgetts has been matron at Evesham Community Hospital for just over a year and was given the accolade at Worcestershire Health and Care NHS Trust’s annual staff awards event on Wednesday October 4.

She was handed the award by special guest and Falklands War hero Simon Weston CBE.

Evesham Community Hospital is run by the Health and Care Trust and Ms Hodgetts was nominated by its senior management team.

She said: “I am delighted to have won this award and grateful to the Trust for the help and support I and the team here at Evesham Community Hospital has received during my time here.

"It is a great place to work and I am lucky to have such outstanding nurses, therapists, porters, caterers, housekeeping and all the other staff without which the hospital wouldn’t be as effective as it is today.”

The county’s inpatient stroke rehabilitation wards were also given the ambitious award at the event.

The wards opened at Evesham Hospital earlier this year supporting patients recovering from a serious stroke and is already reducing lengths of stay.

Just under 200 people attended The trust’s annual awards ceremony at Bordesley Park near Redditch.