Scotland's Health Awards: Forth Valley mortician who found job during grief says it is her 'true calling'
Scotland’s Health Awards 2025 close for nominations on Sunday.
An NHS Forth Valley mortician has been recognised for her ‘passion’ and ‘dedication’ to the role.
Sammy Fleming, 25, has been nominated for the Integrated Care award at Scotland’s Health Awards 2025, hosted by The Scotsman in partnership with Scottish Government.
She began studying mental health nursing at The University of Stirling. However, after the loss of her father and subsequent family challenges, she had to pause her studies.
During this time, Ms Fleming “became resolute” in her desire to support others experiencing similar grief.
This led her to apply for a position at the Forth Valley Hospital mortuary - which she believes is her “true calling”.
Her mum, who nominated Sammy, said: “Sammy is a caring and diligent professional who plays a vital role in honouring the deceased and assisting grieving families
“Since joining the mortuary, Sammy has found what she believes is her true calling. Despite the inherent difficulties of the role, she approaches her work with passion and dedication.
“She is deeply committed to assisting families through their most challenging moments, ensuring dignity and respect for those who have no family to advocate for them.”
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“At just 25 years old, Sammy demonstrates remarkable strength and empathy in a role that many would find unimaginable,” she added.
“Her colleagues at the hospital share my admiration for her exceptional work.
“She has excelled in providing comfort and support to individuals and families during times of profound loss, and I wholeheartedly believe she deserves this recognition for her outstanding contributions.”
The Integrated Care award is for an individual, a group or a team who provide vital, high quality, co-ordinated health and social care and support that helps people in Scotland in a way that is person-centred, safe and effective.
This award aims to recognise care and support that has been planned around the needs and expectations of the person, their carer(s) and family to achieve improved outcomes.
Health award nominations close on Sunday, August 17
Other award categories include care for mental health, as well as awards for the doctor, nurse, top team, support worker, young achiever, volunteer, midwife and leader of the year.
The Scotsman spoke to the health secretary as nominations officially opened for 2025 to hear just how important Scotland’s Health Awards are.
“I’m delighted to announce the launch of Scotland’s Health Awards 2025,” Mr Gray said.
“These awards offer the opportunity to not only acknowledge all of our fantastic colleagues who work tirelessly day in, day out across our health and care services, they give us the chance to show what their extraordinary achievements mean to each and every individual in Scotland.
“I’ve witnessed first-hand the incredible work that goes on across our health and care settings. That’s why I’m so pleased that these awards recognise frontline health and social care workers and also celebrate those who work so hard in support roles to ensure our services achieve the highest quality of care and patient experience.”
Nominations are now open across 17 award categories, which all aim to recognise frontline health and social care workers and celebrate those who work hard behind the scenes to make sure patients across the country get the highest level of care possible.
The awards ceremony and gala dinner will be held at the Edinburgh Corn Exchange on Thursday, November 6. Nominations are now open and can be submitted online at scotlandshealthawards.co.uk.
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