Three Forth Valley Royal Hospital staff are among only 47 people in the UK to win Serco Pulse Awards for outstanding care or commitment in 2013.

They fought off 280 other strong contenders in the judging rounds. Only those Serco employees who really stood out from the crowd for making an exceptional contribution or performing an outstanding act in 2013 received an award.

Rae Kelso is a catering administrator at the hospital and Irene Tollins works in the team responsible for cleaning and providing food for patients in the Acute Stroke Ward. Project manager Tom McEwan works in the portering and logistics department, which covers stores, linen and Automated Guided Vehicles, or robots, which transport supplies and food at the hospital.

When a very ill patient decided to get married at extremely short notice, Rae arranged a wedding cake and food, while Irene made the surroundings as smart as possible and created a bouquet for the bride out of kitchen roll. Rae and Irene showed great compassion and helped to make the marriage a happy occasion.

Besides his normal role, Tom handles AGV tours for visitors, from school pupils to parties from other hospitals and countries, and visitors love the robots. Tom set up an education centre, furnished it with posters, audio-visual facilities and a viewing area. With approximately two visits a month, Tom has shown hundreds of people around the hospital. His enthusiasm ensures visitors of all ages leave with a positive view of Forth Valley.

Mike Mackay, Solutions Director at Serco Health, said: “Ray, Irene and Tom are passionate about doing the right thing for our patients, customers, colleagues and the communities we serve. Huge congratulations to them. They are very deserving winners.”

The winners attended a national awards ceremony at the IMAX – Science Museum to celebrate their achievements with 300 other guests.