Awards recognise crucial work of health staff

Southern Trust Executive Director of Nursing and Allied Health Professionals Mr Francis Rice, who compered the Awards event, Head of Diagnostics, Jeanette Robinson and Craigavon Area Hospital Radiographers, Janet Eagle, from Portadown, Helena Kincaid from Lurgan who were the overall winners at the 2016 Advancing Healthcare Awards.

The winners are among staff known as Allied Health Professionals (AHPs), including physiotherapists, radiographers, speech and language therapists and dietitians.

The Macmillan Award for Rethinking the Patient Pathway and overall award winner at the event went to Craigavon Area Hospital radiographers Janet Eagle, Portadown, and Helena Kincaid, Lurgan, for their redesign of the diagnoses and treatment of fertility problems in women.

Dietitians were finalists in two categories: head of nutrition and dietetics Mandy Gilmore and community dietitian Elizabeth O’Connor for developing the ‘Health Call Under Nutrition Service’, a remote monitoring service for adults at risk of malnutrition in care homes; and specialist dietitians Vanessa McMinn and Wendy Murray for the X-PERT group patient education programme for people with Type 2 Diabetes.

Physiotherapist Cathy McKeown was a finalist for developing a Falls Pathway alongside NI Ambulance Service colleagues.

Elizabeth O’Connor, dietitian, and physiotherapist Annette Kearney alongside midwifery colleagues contributed to a regional project ‘Weigh to a Healthy Pregnancy’ which was shortlisted.

Tara Davison, peripatetic assessor, and Julie Mullen, physiotherapy support worker, were finalists for their work in developing the AHP workforce.

Special Recognition as a ‘Rising Star’ was also given to senior occupational therapist Melanie Sheenan who works at the Memory Centre helping people living with dementia.

Southern Trust executive director for nursing and AHPs Francis Rice said, “Our Allied Health Professionals play such a vital role in ensuring safe, high quality care.

“From diagnosis and assessment to delivering treatment through to rehabilitation, they have a huge influence on the patient journey and have led the way in a number of innovative service developments.”