University Honours Health and Social Care Professionals in 10th Anniversary Awards

Health & Social Care professionals from across the region were celebrated at the University of Worcester's 10th annual Mentor Awards.

The Awards recognise the outstanding contribution that professionals from the health and social care sectors make in supporting the University's students whilst they are training in the work place.

The night's celebrations honoured professionals - from across the region and further afield - who have made an invaluable contribution to each student's learning journey.

In all, 29 individual awards were presented to nurses, midwives, social workers, paramedics, and various other professions within the sector.

Elizabeth Davies-Ward, Head of the School of Allied Health and Community at Worcester, said: "Everyone we have honoured has their own job to think about, their own unique set of challenges and responsibilities, and yet they have taken the time and care not only to provide placements and mentoring opportunities for the next generation, but to provide truly excellent placements backed up with compassion and support. When you consider the array of challenges facing staff in the health and care sector, we have every reason to be especially grateful for their efforts."

In addition to the individual awards, 13 Outstanding Practice Learning Environment awards were presented to those NHS departments, charitable organisations, GP's surgeries and social work teams that have supported the development of the next generation of practitioners by providing high quality student work placements.

Robert Dudley, Acting Head of the School of Nursing and Midwifery at the University of Worcester, said: "The placements and support provided by our mentors are crucial in helping our students to feel comfortable and confident in the work place.

"In this, the 10th anniversary year of our mentoring awards, it is important to pause and consider just how significant the contribution of our award winners is. It will not be long before our students are themselves taking their place in the workforce and playing their part in shaping the health services of the future, and the individuals and organisations we are celebrating this evening have played an enormous part in ensuring the next generation is ready to hit the ground running when they take up the mantle."

The Awards were presented by Suzanne Rastrick, Chief Allied Health Professions Officer at NHS England, and one of the first allied health professionals in the country to hold a substantive Director of Nursing.

"Good mentorship is an essential vehicle for the transference of knowledge into clinical practice but it also has benefits for the organisations providing mentorship through the promotion of a learning culture, raised standards of patient care, increased staff motivation, improved recruitment and retention and the creation of a more dynamic working environment," she said.

Sandra Potter, a Paramedic in Bromsgrove and winner of the Long Service Award on the night, said she felt "extremely honoured and proud" to have received this recognition.

"Working with and guiding the students has been extremely rewarding," she said. "Watching them progress through their placements has been an honour. Being part of their development to becoming a highly competent and skilled member of a team has been a privilege. The students also provide me with a learning experience - they are often the first to learn new techniques from the university.

"Having spent over 30 years working for the Ambulance Service and now coming to the end of my career, it is like the icing on the cake to be recognized with this award on the 10th anniversary of the mentor awards themselves."


Full List of Award Winners