Award for speech therapists whose idea transformed lives in Portstewart nursing home
The life-changing work of two health care professionals in a Portstewart nursing home has been celebrated at an awards ceremony.
The Advancing Healthcare Awards Northern Ireland celebrated all those supporting front line health services, whose work is often overlooked.
Two of the stars of the night have transformed the lives of frail nursing home residents in the Madelayne Court Care Home, Portstewart, by developing a milkshake to improve nutrition for older people affected with swallowing difficulties (dysphagia) and at risk of choking.
The Advancing Healthcare Awards Northern Ireland is open to healthcare scientists, allied health professionals and those working alongside them in support roles. It is organised in association with the Department of Health NI.
The award for Outstanding Leadership went to a team of speech and language therapist Heather Stevenson and dietician Katherine Hudson, for their project, Milkshakes Matter.
The pair won this category among entries from across the allied healthcare professional body. They worked with nursing home staff, residents and their families to come up with a solution to one of the key challenges in care of the elderly, difficulties in swallowing which can lead to choking if it goes unsupported.
The initiative reduced the reliance on expensive nutritional supplements and introduced a new, fortified menu, resulting in significant cost savings and improved health outcomes.
A project led by speech and language therapists Carolyn Greer and Laura Connolly was shortlisted in the award for service improvement after dramatic results in an ENT (Ear Nose and Throat) clinic. Their innovation transformed the management of voice and upper airway conditions, reducing waiting times by over seven years and ensured that 90% of patients no longer needed to see an ENT doctor.
Swallowing was a major focus of the other speech and language therapists whose work was celebrated on the night.
Alison McCusker was shortlisted in the Award for Excellence in a Support Role for her Dysphagia NI Swallow Aware Campaign, working to improve knowledge, reduce risks and enhance the quality of life for people with dysphagia.
Angela Crocker was shortlisted for her Masters research on the management of dysphagia among adults with intellectual disabilities, highlighting the need for specialist speech and language therapy service to reduce incidents of choking and hospital admissions.
Dysphagia also featured in the shortlist for Creative and Innovative Practice, in which Alison Ferris and Fiona McCallion showcased new training resources they have developed for both the public and healthcare professionals to improve awareness of eating, drinking and swallowing difficulties and aimed at reducing choking hazards. Their resources have been widely adopted, including in Scotland, receiving overwhelmingly positive feedback.
Ruth Sedgewick, Head of the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists, Northern Ireland, said: “I’m incredibly proud to see the work of our amazing speech and language therapists in Northern Ireland receive the recognition they so deserve. These awards demonstrate just how important their work is in transforming people’s quality of life, from the very young to the oldest and most frail.
“The awards also show how, working in collaboration with other healthcare professionals expert speech and language therapy can make dramatic changes to patient outcomes. "