Last week, the first Allied Health Professional (AHP) Conference for Hampshire and the Isle of Wight took place and the winners of the 2023 AHP awards were announced.
Allied health professionals play a vital role in treating, rehabilitating and improving the lives of local patients. There are 15 allied health professional roles and these include physiotherapists, paramedics and radiographers.
The Allied Health Professional Conference was an opportunity to reflect on and celebrate the amazing work of allied health professionals working in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight and a great opportunity to develop plans for the future.
The Allied Health Professional Award winners received their awards from NHS Hampshire and Isle of Wight Chief Nursing Officer, Nicky Lucey. Finalists of the AHP Awards were picked from a huge pool of nominees from across Hampshire and the Isle of Wight and the judging panel had an enormous challenge to narrow them down to five winners, who were:
- Rachael Blake, Physiotherapist from Solent NHS Trust, who won the Leadership Award for her numerous initiatives aimed at revolutionising physiotherapy in mental health settings.
- Emma Middleton, Therapeutic Radiographer from Portsmouth Hospitals University NHS Trust, won the AHP Educator Award after her tireless work to ‘fly the flag’ for AHPs and train and educate the next generation.
- Claire Gill and Sarah Sharp, Dietitians from Hampshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, jointly took the award for Innovation and Improvement for their outstanding work with cancer patients - significantly impacting their health and recovery through food and nutrition.
- Sue Morrison, Occupational Therapist with Southern Health NHS Foundation Trust, won the Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Award for her work in the development of community services post institutionalised care provision, promoting occupational rights, equity and the inclusion of people with learning disability to access activities and occupations within their local communities.
- Finally, the Hampshire and Isle of Wight AHP of the Year Award went to Tomos Harding-Neale, Advanced Specialist Orthoptist from University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust, for his work supporting those struggling with vision impairment after stroke.
Nicky Lucey, Chief Nursing Officer at NHS Hampshire and Isle of Wight said: “This event was a great opportunity to highlight the brilliant work taking place across Hampshire and the Isle of Wight. The winners of the awards, and all those who were nominated, do a fantastic job and I would like to say congratulations to everyone who was involved.”
The conference was attended by stakeholders from across all sectors, including Sara Bolton, Chief Allied Health Professional for the South East region, and Rebecca Tyrrell, Regional Head of the Allied Health Professional Workforce, Training and Education for the South East.
Beverley Harden, NHS England Allied Health Professional Workforce Lead, joined the event virtually to recognise and celebrate the achievements of all the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Allied Health Professional Faculty, who she said 'keep pushing boundaries to drive the transformational abilities of all.' She also enthusiastically extolled the brilliance of collective collaboration across Hampshire and the Isle of Wight.
