Southern Trust Health Care Staff among the Best in Northern Ireland

by Gráinne Connolly

Allied Health Professionals from the Southern Health and Social Care Trust have been recognised amongst the best in Northern Ireland at the 2017 Advancing Healthcare Awards. 

Allied Health Professionals (AHP) is the name given to the group of professional health care staff distinct from nurses and doctors, who offer a range of diagnostic, technical, therapeutic and direct patient care and support services critical to patient care. 

AHPs include physiotherapists, radiographers, speech and language therapists, occupational therapists and dietitians. 

The Northern Ireland Advancing Healthcare Awards, now in their third year, recognise projects and professionals that lead innovative healthcare practice and make a real difference to patients' lives. 

Below is the list of Southern Trust winners and finalists: 

• Radiographers Grainne Forsythe and Fionnuala Finn - Health and Social Care Leadership Award for Leadership and Culture Winner.
  For their 'Trauma Imaging reporting by radiographers' submission. 
   (radiographers)
   
• Jillian Windrum, Children and Young People's Physiotherapist - Ulster University Leader in the Making award. 
   (Jillian Winnard - right receiving her award) 
   
• The Acute Care at Home Team; Denise Curran, Lead Occupational Therapist, and Paul Kodiyan, Physiotherapist - finalists in the Department of Health Award for Transforming the Workforce with their submission for AHP intervention in the Acute Care at Home Team.
  
   (acute care at home team)

The trust collected 2 out of the ‘Top 3 Poster Presentations’:

• 1st prize, Hilary McFaul, Play and Say Speech and Language Therapist: Communicating Together - Speech and Language Group Interventions for the Pre-school Client Group
   
• 3rd prize went to Denise Hall, Physiotherapist for:  Evaluation of the Southern Trust Musculoskeletal (MSK) Physiotherapy Injection Service

Congratulating the winners and finalists, Southern Trust Assistant Director of Allied Health Professions, Governance & Workforce Development Carmel Harney said:

“In the Southern Trust our Allied Health Professionals play such a vital role in ensuring safe, high quality care.

"From diagnosis and assessment to delivering treatment right through to rehabilitation, they have a huge influence on the patient journey and are leading the way in a number of “first of their kind” innovative service developments.

"I am extremely proud to have the calibre of our own AHPs recognised at such a prestigious event.”