The awards celebrate top performing staff, volunteers and teams from across the Hunter New England Health region and among this year’s winners were Tamworth’s Sussan Maybury and the team from the North West Cancer Centre at Tamworth hospital.

Ms Maybury, 36, took out the title of Staff Member of the Year for her efforts as a district Aboriginal family health coordinator (violence prevention and care).

She told The Leader that while she was aware she was one of four finalists in the category, “I didn’t think I stood a chance”.

“(The other finalists) were pretty significant in terms of their achievements so when they called out my name it was a little bit surreal,” Ms Maybury said.

“It’s really quite humbling, but there are a lot of other people who deserve recognition – it’s a real collaborative effort.”

She has worked in her current role for the past four years and travels the length and breadth of the Hunter New England Health district to help those who can feel they have nowhere left to turn.

“We advocate on behalf of the some of the most vulnerable people in our community, so while it can be very challenging, it’s also very rewarding when you see a not-go-good situation turned around,” she said.

The Tamworth-based North West Cancer Centre was also in the awards spotlight, taking out the Quality Award – Patients as Partners category, as well as one for rural innovation.

At the heart of the win were information videos produced for patients about to embark on radiation therapy.

The videos addressed some of the misconceptions people had and the overall content was guided by patient input.

Those at the awards presentation heard four patient-approved videos were produced by cancer centre staff and 98 per cent of patients had said they had helped them in their treatment journey.