Supporting Learners Award Winner
Supporting Bereaved Relatives - Royal Lancaster Infirmary
University Hospital Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation Trust (UHMBT)
This unique training package was initially devised to support porters when collecting a deceased patient to take them to the mortuary. The project focused on ensuring porters felt knowledgeable and confident in their roles and as a result bereaved relatives would feel more supported. The objective was to ensure porters were able able to converse with family members sensitively even in the most difficult circumstances. This training was also part of a response to the Better Endings report (NIHR 2015) which highlighted the need to improve end of life care.
After a period of consultation a pilot workshop was developed, which has since been extended to include other non-clinical staff. This targeted and flexible training was both factual and practical in content, delivered in tandem by a specialist bereavement nurse and project lead, Helen O’Neil, the education facilitator. Importantly it allowed staff to share their experiences, whilst UHMBT learnt how impactful training with small groups can be on service delivery. UHMBT also realised how much staff appreciated the training investments, and soon realised how much staff appreciated the training investments. The trust is now very clear about the integral role nonclinical staff play in supporting patients and relatives at the end of life. Although the initial focus was on increasing porter confidence and knowledge it has changed practice too, refocusing attention on what was actually happening on wards by highlighting simple, often minor steps to build better practice.
Nominated by Janet Thorpe
HEE Ingenuity Award Winner
Singing For People With Long Term Illnesses
Inspire Social Enterprise
Inspire is a social enterprise developed by professional musicians, educators and researchers. Inspire grew out of a HEFCE ‘Do It’ award at the University of Manchester. This award aimed to encourage people with long term conditions to become actively involved in singing and music as a way of improving personal resilience, independence and self-care. Work to date has concentrated on people with respiratory disease and aphasia (communication difficulties following strokes etc.) Inspire’s pioneering work has focused on developing singing models that are tailored to the needs and expectations of people with a variety of long term conditions. This work has included establishing a network of singing groups for the North West; fostering independence and building in sustainability for initiatives; evaluating the physical and psychological benefits of singing groups and ultimately understanding the cost effectiveness and social value of this type of social prescribing activity.
Being part of a choir enables members to learn a wide variety of new skills e.g. new songs; rhythm and harmony as well as learning vital breath control. From the outset choir members are taught performance techniques and how to sing in public. The choirs have relished the opportunity of performing to a wide variety of audiences and venues including the Royal College of Music in London and the Lowry Theatre. Choir members have also been invited to speak at a variety of meetings about their condition and the many health benefits of participating in a choir, including a workshop at the 2016 International Festival for Public Health in Manchester.
Nominated by Dr Adam Garrow
Ingenuity Project Award Runner Up
Dadly Does It – Chris Dabbs – Unlimited Potential, Salford and Rochdale
HEE Innovation Award Winner
The Greater Manchester Genomics Education Programme
Manchester Centre for Genomic Education, Central Manchester University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
The 100,000 Genome Project is an ambitious, transformational healthcare project that allies cutting edge science and technology, clinical care and research. The initiative involves collecting and decoding 100,000 human genomes – complete sets of people’s genes – (DNA) – to enable scientists and doctors to understand more about specific conditions. Understanding DNA and how it can predict and prevent disease, provide a precise diagnosis and direct targeted treatment is a key component of personalised care. One of thirteen centres nationally ambitiously promoting whole genome sequencing and establishing the city as a key player in a national healthcare system.
Dr Glenda Beaman the project education training lead has trail blazed; working with expert patients and clinical staff to jointly develop and deliver a multi-faceted, education and training programme designed to provide healthcare professionals across Greater Manchester with the knowledge and confidence to refer in to the project. This has involved establishing Genomic Cafes, grand rounds in hospitals, training for GPs and educational session for every foundation year doctor, plus regular talks at nursing forums; as well as significant patient and public engagement events to raise awareness. This work has impacted significantly on the number of genome referrals. Professor Newman said,’ More people have been reached in one year than the previous twenty years’, with over 10,000 direct contacts.
Nominated by Professor Bill Newman
Widening Participation in Health and Care Award Winner
Simon Haworth (Cheshire)
Lane End Construction Developments LTD
This community champion invests much time and energy in coaching and mentoring children and young people from across the North West. He inspires them to follow their dreams and to believe in themselves because he believes in them. He is a veteran, and an accomplished boxer, who openly admits that he initially, struggled to settle in to civvy street, ‘knowing nothing but how to use his fists’. At his lowest point he had no friends, no money or home.
Simon is no angel. However he is a man who has learnt how to say sorry and to recognise his own shortcomings. He has also found a powerful way to make amends for past wrongs, firmly believing life’s mistakes can always provide the opportunity for new lessons learnt. His learning transition can only be characterised as transformative as he has clearly left behind a ‘once angry man’ whose life lacked purpose or direction to become someone who can freely and openly give of himself. Needless to say his early journey quickly spiralled out of control ending in a prison sentence but he turned his life around and developed a new found sense of direction by putting something back. He turned a very big corner and his ambition is to help others to do the same. He has a very clear message, ’There is always hope, apply yourself to your chosen field, learn from every experience, never give up and you too can change your lives for the better.’
Nominated by Kathryn Harrison
Widening Participation in Health Care Runner Up
Caroline Ingram – Countess of Chester Foundation Trust, Chester
Volunteer of the Year in Health and Care Award Winner
Lisa Harding (Lancashire) Pathways
Lisa describes each day as a joy but it wasn’t always that way. She was an active addict for over 40 years and regularly engaged in severe self-harm. She has you might say, experienced ‘life’s ups and downs’ and many of what she describes as life’s tricky tests but she has come through to the other side a stronger person, equipped to help others, buoyed by a new found confidence and an energising zest for life. Lisa’s learning journey can only be characterised as one of self-discovery and growth. Through her volunteering and the training she has accessed she has been empowered. She has gained vital self-esteem and a deep sense of purpose, along with a huge capacity to help others. Never one to seek the limelight or look for praise she just gets on with turning her own personal experiences and knowledge of substance abuse into something which is relatable to others; something people can gain insight and knowledge from to build better lives.
Now three years into recovery Lisa is a beacon of hope to her community, inspiring those who knew her before and also those who know her now who are thinking and wanting to change but simply don’t know how. Lisa is an open book for advice and guidance whilst also providing a good listening ear.
Nominated by Sean Cusack
Joint Volunteer of the Year Runners Up
John Dix – Cheshire and Wirral Partnership NHS Foundation Trust
Chester Chris Makin – Greater Manchester Mental Health NHS Trust
Supporting Learners in Health and Care Award Winner
Emma Steeles (Manchester)
Manchester Royal Infirmary (MRI)
Emma worked in the main theatre at MRI for eight years as an operating department practitioner (ODP). During this time she was and still is deeply passionate and proud of her work in a perioperative environment where patients are most vulnerable. It won’t surprise you to hear that she has always been committed to promoting learning and development as a means to improve the quality of care and she has been driven by a set of very clear goals in her work. This has meant she was able to seamlessly move into a new and challenging job to support others just twelve months ago.
Emma is adamant about the importance of supporting student ODPs in her new role as a clinical skills facilitator. She has a clear sense of responsibility and an ambition to develop and improve all the perioperative care given by future practitioners. She states with confidence that the early experience that student ODPs receive through their training will influence the practitioners they become in the future. In just a short space of time she has transformed the support for student ODPs at MRI, devising key learning resources and rolling out new student support packages. She continually aspires to ensure all students and their mentors have the right knowledge, skills and support to deliver safe, efficient and compassionate care by working alongside students and with colleagues, never imposing from above, but drawing on knowledge and building perspective in a reflective manner.
Nominated by Sharon Green
Supporting Learners in Health and Care Runners Up
Arts Loco in partnership with PARTIA – Elaine McNeill – Liverpool John Moores University
Paula O’Malley – Aintree University Hospital Trust, Liverpool
Career Progression in Health and Care Award Winner
Paul Connor (Liverpool)
Tom Harrison House
Paul was Tom Harrison House’s (THH) first graduate. Ross, his nominator says,’ Paul is hands-down the most stunning example of someone who, given the right opportunities, has turned his life around 180 degrees. When the team first met Paul, his life was literally in ruins – his physical and mental health had broken down to an alarming degree, he had destroyed his family relationships and had lost his dignity and self-respect. He had been living on the streets for years and he was totally dependent on alcohol, an addiction that almost killed him on several occasions. One thing that shone through all this chaos and destruction was Paul’s determination to lift himself out of that life when the opportunity to engage with THH arose, and to work hard with us on beginning to change his situation.’
Paul has embraced learning in every situation that has presented itself since his first day at THH. His journey commenced when he joined the main THH programme where he began to learn more about himself and his addiction. He continued after his time in rehab with volunteering, training, part-time employment and eventually his most recent undertaking – training in his passion for photography – in a job that he loves. These opportunities have all arisen from Paul’s own sense of determination and a willingness to challenge himself; and because he has been so open to learning in the form of the unique THH addiction programme which has proved transformational. Paul adds, ’The THH programme gave me my life back. It was life changing.’
Nominated by Ross Forest
Joint Career Progression in Health and Care Runners Up
Gayle Davidson – The Carleton Clinic, Cumbria Partnership NHS FT
Steven Lee – Walton Neurology Centre, Liverpool
Certificate of Recognition
Apprentice of the Year in Health and Care Award Winner
Colette Doran (Cumbria)
Cumbria Partnership NHS Foundation Trust (CPFT)
Colette is no stranger to facing challenges head on. She not only juggles her job as a support worker with her apprenticeship at the NHS community rehabilitation service in Carlisle whilst being a busy single mum; but she also maintains a demanding commitment to a rigorous training schedule. We should mention Colette is a carer who also throws a very mean javelin. As an international athlete she holds a British record and she will be representing Great Britain in the Deaflympics. So you won’t be surprised to hear that although Colette has been deaf from birth – despite her impairment and a car accident that nearly killed her – she has never let it get in her way.
She is a passionate apprentice who enthuses about the power of learning to instil confidence in the care workforce whilst she is ambitiously planning her next steps in to become a nurse associate . As a clear team player she says everyone should be encouraged to, ’commit to learning and development because it enhances knowledge, understanding and skills to do the job efficiently.’
Stephanie her nominator adds, ‘Colette promotes learning and development in the workplace and she acts as a role model and encourages others to enhance their development.’ Stephanie notes that she believes Colette is constantly motivated to do more by her competitive side because of her sport interests; but Colette is also a reflective learner who regularly draws on her own experiences to enhance patient communication and evidences this well in her formal studies.
Nominated by Stephanie Watson
Joint North West Apprentice of the Year in Health and Care Runners Up
Liam Potter – Families and Babies (FAB), Bolton
Rosemarie Lee – Ward 11 and 12 – Central Manchester University Hospital NHS Trust
Winners announced for Learning Matters Health and Care Awards 2017
As part of the joint regional award programme and learning campaign between Voluntary Sector North West (VSNW) and Health Education England (HEE), the Learning Matters Awards celebrates all kinds of learning across the health and care sector. We are pleased to announce the thirteen winners, who will receive their awards at the ceremony on Monday 15th June.
The nominations they reviewed reflected a diversity of people and projects in the NHS, local authorities, the voluntary and private sector. They encompassed clinicians, carers, patients and the public in both paid and volunteer roles. They featured people taking their first steps into work and education, those who tirelessly volunteer year after year and people who selflessly and skilfully support the development of others.
These nominations all had one thing in common. They were all outstanding examples of the benefits of any investment in learning and development for people and organisations. They all illustrated just how and why adult learning is good for people and – importantly for everyone in the health and care sector – especially the patients and service users. The impact of this learning was transformational for all those involved. Award categories reflected the concerns and priorities of all award partners and sponsors through a number of overarching themes. This meant the award categories guaranteed a richness of nominations which then subsequently provided an incredibly powerful narrative of what success looks like in health and care for the region.
The awards are part of a cross sector adult learning campaign which recognises the contribution that adult learning makes to individual, community and economic wellbeing as well as the continued development of the health and care sector. The overarching theme is simple: lifelong learning is good for people, organisations and health.
““We are proud to be working with Health Education England and their partners to deliver the 2017 Learning Matters Awards in Health and Care. We have taken great pride in leading this year’s awards development. We believe it is more important than ever to recognise the achievements of those people and organisations who invest in their own learning and that of others; and to recognise the positive impact that this can have on the wider community.”
”We were particularly pleased to see clear examples of effective cross-sector working and asset based community development where voluntary and community organisations can play an important part in increasing health and wellbeing across the North West, and in reducing the health inequalities that exist. Congratulations to all those who have been nominated and well done to all the winners.””
Find out who the winners are below.
HEE individual awards
Apprentice of the Year in Health and Care Award
Career Progression in Health and Care Award
Supporting Learners in Health and Care Award
Volunteer of the Year in Health and Care Award
Widening Participation in Health and Care Award
HEE project awards
Widening Participation in Health and Care Award
Sponsored awards
Asset Based Approaches to Community Development Award
Digital Innovation in Health Care Award
Social Purpose Learning Champion Award
Social Purpose Learning in Action Award
The regional award ceremony will be hosted by the Manchester Museum on Monday 15 June 2017. An awards profile booklet will be available electronically after this date and winner photographs will be posted.