STAFF from Barnsley Hospital's Ward 24 and Chemotherapy Unit have been nominated for a Hospital Hero award after going above and beyond for a Barnsley family during a difficult time.

Jude McDonald, 43, from Darton, lost her husband to a rare cancer of the immune system in May last year.

The mum-of-one praised all staff from the unit in her nomination, from the cleaners and receptionists through to nurses and ward staff, for being positive and helpful during a difficult time for her and her daughter.

Jude said as her husband Graham was in hospital for six-year-old daughter Emily's fourth and fifth birthdays, staff went the extra mile to make her feel like a princess when she visited her dad.

Jude said: "I will never be able to thank them enough for the love and care they gave my husband. "He was never down in the dumps when he was an in-patient because there was always someone cheering him up.

"He spent the last days of his life on Ward 24 last May and I am so glad he was there because to me it felt like family. "These people aren't just doing a job, they deeply care about their patients and families."

Jude says she couldn't believe it when she saw lots of staff from Ward 24 and the chemo unit at Graham's funeral.

She still occasionally calls into the hospital to say hello and drop in a box of chocolates, as a thank you for caring for her husband. Lead nurse from the unit, Catherine Fretwell, said: "It feels fantastic to be nominated. We are extremely proud of the team.

"That particular patient we had a lot of input into his care and spent a lot of time with the family. "We try and pick the people who come to work on the ward very carefully."

She added: "No-one does this job for the money.

"There isn't any amount you could pay someone to do this - it has to be a vocation.

"The team we have on here really are something special.

"We want to give the best care we can when it comes to the end of someone's life as that is what the relatives will remember for the rest of their lives.

"If we can do anything to make it a more positive experience we will do, as sometimes, that image is all you can remember.

"They give a high standard of care to the patients.

"It can be a very emotionally demanding on the staff. "We all have days where it is difficult and we have to pick each other up again.

"We all have different strengths and we use them to help each other - that's why we're such a great team."