Member Article

Creative healthcare stars honoured at the Bright Ideas in Health Awards

The region’s brightest healthcare minds were celebrated at this year’s Bright Ideas in Health Awards.

Now in its 15th year, the awards shine the spotlight on people working to improve healthcare services through innovative problem-solving across the North East and North Cumbria.

Around 400 healthcare professionals gathered at the prestigious ceremony to celebrate the cutting-edge work of individuals and teams within the NHS, academia and industry.

The winning ‘ideas’ covering five categories included a peer-led alternative to traditional mental health services, a Blood Borne Virus (BBV) Test, a ‘pop-up hospital’, a collaborative approach to reducing pressure sores through training and education, and ground-breaking endoscopy research.

Organisers, the Academic Health Science Network for the North East and North Cumbria (AHSN NENC), offer specialist expert support to all the winners, as well as a cash prize, to develop the ideas the further.

Dr Nicola Wesley, Chief Operations Officer at the AHSN NENC, said: “The Bright Ideas in Health Awards never fail to amaze and inspire. The North East and North Cumbria is a hotbed of innovative thinkers and problem-solvers and these awards provide the ideal platform to celebrate the achievements of the healthcare professionals that are making a real difference across a wide range of healthcare settings.

“At a time when our health service is under immense pressure, it’s never been more important for us to search for solutions to address everyday healthcare challenges. We have been overwhelmed by the quality of projects taking place across our region and I would like to personally say well done to all the winners and the finalists. I’m sure they will act as inspiration for others to think outside the box and develop ideas that could ultimately help lessen the pressures on frontline NHS staff and improve patient care.”

The winners in each category were:

• Service Improvement

‘ReCoCo (The Recovery College Collective)’: Northumberland, Tyne and Wear NHS Foundation Trust

• Development of an Innovative Device or Technology

‘Blood Borne Virus (BBV) Test’: South Tees Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

• Innovation Champion of the Year

‘The Pop-up Hospital - Team from the Great North Children’s Hospital’: Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

• Demonstrating an Impact of Patient Safety

‘Pressure Area Care - spreading the knowledge’: North Cumbria University Hospitals NHS Trust

• Research Impact: Improving patient care

‘Leading Collaborations to Deliver Practice Changing Research’: South Tyneside NHS Foundation Trust

The 15th Bright Ideas in Health Awards, held at the Newcastle Gateshead Hilton Hotel on 29th November, were hosted by TV presenter and journalist Kim Inglis. Speakers at the event included Dame Jackie Daniel, Chief Executive of the Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, and Adam Kay, author of ‘This is Going to Hurt – Secret Diaries of a Junior Doctor’.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by RLPR .