The awards, run by the South Yorkshire and Bassetlaw Integrated Care System (ICS) – a partnership of all health and care organisations in Barnsley, Bassetlaw, Doncaster, Rotherham and Sheffield – celebrated innovative projects led by a range of Allied Health Professions (AHPs) across the region.
AHPs represent a broad range of health and care workers* and as the region’s third largest healthcare workforce group, AHPs have a unique opportunity to help develop and improve health and care services for local people.
The awards recognised schemes that are just as broad – from a project in Doncaster linking primary school children with people with dementia to connect the generations – to organisations in Barnsley helping people make faster recoveries by getting them the right support after a hospital stay.
Sir Andrew Cash, Chief Executive of South Yorkshire and Bassetlaw Integrated Care System, presented the awards and said: “As a partnership, we want everyone in South Yorkshire and Bassetlaw to have the best possible start in life with support to live well, for longer. Our workforce, of which we have over 72,000, are our biggest champions in helping to make our ambition a reality and our AHP colleagues are really leading the way in making this happen.
“There are some fantastic initiatives taking place in local neighbourhoods, organisations, towns and across the region. All our winners have shown incredible drive and determination for improving patient care and are great role models for everyone across our system.
The winners are:
AHP Public Health Champion 2019: Helen Blomfield, Sheffield Health and Social Care NHS Foundation Trust
AHP Digital Practice Award 2019: The Speech and Language Stroke Therapy Team, Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
AHP Workforce Award 2019: The Community Hospital Admission Avoidance Team (CHAT) from The Rotherham NHS Foundation Trust
AHP Quality Improvement Award: Neighbourhood/Organisation 2019: Carola Tramsen and Memory Therapy Services, Rotherham, Doncaster and South Humber NHS Foundation Trust
AHP Quality Improvement Award: Place 2019: “The Barnsley Alliance” – representing Barnsley Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, NHS Barnsley Clinical Commissioning Group, South West Yorkshire Partnership NHS Foundation Trust and the Barnsley Healthcare Federation
AHP Quality Improvement Award: System 2019: The Adult Speech and Language Therapies Team from Doncaster and Bassetlaw Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
AHP Leader of the Year Award 2019: Amy Chambers from the South West Yorkshire Partnership NHS Foundation Trust
AHP Research Impact Award 2019: The Clinical Therapies Team from Doncaster and Bassetlaw Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Suzanne Bolam, Chartered Physiotherapist and Lead for the South Yorkshire and Bassetlaw AHP Council, said: “Given our links across a number of sectors, including acute hospitals, community providers, primary care setting, schools, ambulance services, social care and the voluntary sector, I truly believe we as AHPs have a unique opportunity to help achieve the ICS’ ambition of providing even better care, removing organisational barriers and putting the needs of people and patients first.
“I am really proud that as a group, we have been recognised as leading the way in improving care for people across South Yorkshire and Bassetlaw.”
For more information about the work of AHPs in South Yorkshire and Bassetlaw or the Integrated Care System as a whole, please see: www.healthandcaretogethersyb.co.uk
The term ‘AHP’ represents the following professions:
- Art Therapists
- Dietitians
- Drama Therapists
- Music Therapists
- Occupational Therapists
- Operating Department Practitioners
- Orthoptists
- Orthotists and Prosthetists
- Osteopaths
- Paramedics
- Physiotherapists
- Podiatrists
- Speech and Language Therapists
- Radiographers (Diagnostic and Therapeutic)
South Yorkshire and Bassetlaw is the first area in the country to develop an AHP Council.
AHP Public Health Champion 2019
Winner: Helen Blomfield, Sheffield Health and Social Care NHS Foundation Trust and the ‘Time to think about me’ toolkit.
‘Time to think about me’ is a tool for older adults designed by a multidisciplinary team working in Sheffield’s intermediate care units.
The tool supports the team with health coaching, encouraging older adults and their families/carers to consider ways to manage their own health.
‘Time to think about me’ is a package aimed at changing staff approaches to working with older adults. This package includes co-produced materials, a training programme, a day of health coaching and assistance with social signposting.
AHP Digital Practice Award 2019
Winner: The Speech and Language Stroke Therapy Team, Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.
The team used mobile technology to support patients with communication and swallowing difficulties on the Sheffield stroke pathway.
In Sheffield approx. 900 patients per year are admitted to the Stroke service, of whom at least 50% may have communication and/or swallowing difficulties. The SLT Stroke pathway team provides a seamless service to all patients, working with patients and families from their initial hospital care, through rehabilitation both in inpatient and community environments, including patients’ own homes.
In this project, the team modernised their service to patients, using technology to increase therapy dose and facilitate digital participation and self-management.
AHP Workforce Award 2019
Winner: The Community Hospital Admission Avoidance Team (CHAT) from The Rotherham NHS Foundation Trust
Following the governments five year forward view and the integrated care systems approach, key partners in Rotherham developed an Integrated Health and Social Care Place Plan. The overall aim according to the Rotherham place plan was to “support people and families to live independently in the community, with prevention and self-management at the heart of delivery”. The introduction of a community therapy led hospital admission avoidance team in UECC / AMU has been successful in supporting this plan to increase the number of patients returning home the same day.
AHP Quality Improvement Award: Neighbourhood/Organisation 2019
Winner: Carola Tramsen and Memory Therapy Services, Rotherham, Doncaster and South Humber NHS Foundation Trust
The intergenerational school project in Memory Therapy Service in Doncaster is a crucial part of service provision. A 14 week programme of Cognitive Stimulation Therapy (CST) is offered to patients over the age of 65 with mild to moderate cognitive impairment within a diagnosis of dementia. Since 2015, the team have worked in close partnership with two primary schools in Doncaster and have successfully created an invaluable link between our patients and their local community/ neighbourhood and aim to provide social inclusion and education for both generations by providing a suitable, caring and therapeutic environment for our patients and children.
AHP Quality Improvement Award: Place 2019
Winner: “The Barnsley Alliance” – representing Barnsley Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, NHS Barnsley Clinical Commissioning Group, South West Yorkshire Partnership NHS Foundation Trust and the Barnsley Healthcare Federation.
In one year, Barnsley Intermediate Care (IC) has been transformed from a medical consultant led model with relatively static activity levels, high benchmarked costs and system resilience vulnerabilities delivered by one organisation to a therapist and nurse led, agile, person centred and system resilient integrated service delivered by four organisations by investing in Alliance working and leadership.
Close partnering and collaboration was embedded from the outset not just across all stakeholder organisations in Barnsley; but also between AHPs, nurses, doctors, managers and HR and finance teams.
AHP Quality Improvement Award: System 2019
Winner: The Adult Speech and Language Therapies (SLT) Team from Doncaster and Bassetlaw Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
When an internationally standardised framework for patients unable to swallow was proposed, the Adult SLT at DBTH team fully embraced the opportunity to drive it across both the Trust and wider ICS.
The team were keen to get this change right across the whole ICS pathway. There were challenges during the process but ultimately it meant every SLT team, in every Trust, working to the same criteria – standardising and improving care for patients across the whole of South Yorkshire and Bassetlaw.
AHP Leader of the Year Award 2019
Winner: Amy Chambers from South West Yorkshire Partnership NHS Foundation Trust
Amy joined the Trust as clinical lead in October 2017, a new post for Intermediate Care (IMC), at a time of significant change. A new specification for IMC had been developed, moving to an Alliance partnership model of service delivery: A therapy-led service across bedded facilities in the acute hospital, care homes & for patients in their homes & supporting people at times of crisis. The existing IMC wards were relocating to the therapy-led unit (acute trust); staff were going through significant change. Taking on this role would be challenging; establishing staff trust, building partnership relationships, remodelling service pathways, thresholds & staffing and Amy has succeeded in her role, taking her colleagues on the journey with her along the way.
AHP Research Impact Award 2019
Winner: The Clinical Therapies Team from Doncaster and Bassetlaw Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.
Newly-appointed research leads developed a programme to build research capacity amongst physiotherapists, occupational therapists, speech therapists and dietitians at DBTH. The programme aimed to support clinicians and managers to engage in research and develop a positive research culture.
This initiative served to increase engagement, involvement and delivery of research across clinical therapies.