Acampaigning MP, a patient dignity initiative, a cancer website, and a cleaning programme all received top accolades at the first ever Patients Association Awards – staged at the 2006 Cleaner Hospitals, Safer Healthcare Summit, in London.
He has maintained contact with all levels of the NHS and presented petitions to the House of Commons and to 10 Downing Street fighting hospital and ward closures.
Apatient dignity gown – called the SurgiSuit - from Synerception took the “Privacy and Dignity” award for answering an important issue for Muslim women who have a religious objection to exhibiting their body and hair.
This garment – a head scarf, a one piece gown with full-length arms providing coverage to below the knee, and trousers – was designed in conjunction with Muslim women to provide complete coverage of the body yet enabling medical access.
Patient Website of the Year went to www.cancerbacup.org.uk for covering “everything one needs to know about cancer and living with it.” PA vice president Lynn Faulds Wood said the site is not just for people with cancer, but also for their families and friends. It also provided a general educational resource and very much echoes the quality of service that the charity gives on its helpline.
Medirest’s “Aplus” cleaning initiative took the award for Most Promising Innovation of the Year. It offers workers the chance to take extra training sessions and to develop management and leadership skills, and gives cleaners ownership of their own job. This in turn creates pride in the work being done.
Affiliated to the prestigious BICS qualification, the programme encourages innovative training methods such as e-learning and the use of methods like microfibre cleaning.
It is supported by excellent internal communication and training, and shows true investment in people and a commitment to building basic cleaning skills from the ground up, “debunking the belief that all contract companies are the same.”
The Times “Body and Soul” section took the “Patient Information of the Year” award, for balancing realism with positive stories and advice. The judges liked the combination of regular columnists and in-depth features, as well as the “specials”, such as the health atlas of the UK which provided a national health map for the country and looked at issues such as “why your postcode counts”, and “how to find the best care”, and asked the question “where are the best hospitals?”
Barbara Lantin, a freelance who works primarily for the Daily Telegraph became “Health journalist of the year”. The judges praised her style as being easy to read and balanced, informative and well-written.
Lynn Faulds Wood said: “She clearly understands issues and can communicate them well. Difficult topics are handled sensitively but she is not afraid to challenge or make us think about how it could be made better.”
