IBMS members win at inaugural AHCS awards
The first annual AHCS Awards were presented on the 8th December at a celebration dinner, during the Academy’s Congress.
The Academy for Healthcare Science Awards aims to recognise scientists’ contributions to knowledge, discovery, and medical advancement that make a real difference to people’s lives. The awards recognise people who have made a significant contribution to enhancing patient outcomes and safety; raising the profile of health care science; or, promoting its role in better health outcomes and best care.
Sue Kenworthy, a biomedical Scientist based in the Andrology section of the Blood Sciences Department at Portsmouth Hospitals NHS Trust, was one of the two people identified by the completion judges as outstanding. Sue was nominated for her work to empower and include men undergoing fertility treatment.
Her work has ensured that patients at her Trust now feel more included and empowered to contribute to a situation they previously felt unable to influence. Sue was also recognised for the highly beneficial impact on patient health of using semen analysis appointments as an opportunity to engender general health improvements in young men who would not normally seek advice in a health care setting.
Sue was surprised and delighted to be announced a winner: “Considering I had just experienced the first day of the AHCS Inaugural Congress and seen so much amazing and innovative work being done by healthcare scientists, when my name was announced as the recipient of the AHCS award, I was stunned and really rather humbled.
My encouragement of patients to improve their health is not high tech or new, it's just well-placed and timely. As a healthcare scientist working in the NHS, I see it as my role to promote healthy choices such as smoking cessation, alcohol reduction and a healthy diet; it's cost-effective for my Hospital Trust and it also gives my patients something positive to focus on when they are feeling helpless in their fertility journeys. I appreciate that as biomedical scientists, we don't all have patient contact; for andrologists it's a privilege that it's a much more patient facing role. For me, the opportunity to improve the service presented itself and I couldn't ignore it.”
Paul Waller, an Associate Professor in Biomedical Science at Kingston University, was recognised along with his team by the AHCS Award judges for their work on the role of Point of Care Testing (POCT) in reducing the time spent by patients in Accident and Emergency (A&E) departments.
Paul and the team from Kingston University showed that whilst Point of Care testing might allow faster results reporting of blood tests in A&E, POCT would have little impact on the 4 hour target. The team concluded that the whole patient journey needed to be efficient and that POCT should only be used if it supports faster throughput.
Paul was delighted that the work of his team had been recognised: “This work was carried out by Ladan Jama and Misha Piracha, Biomedical Science graduates from Kingston University. I would also like to acknowledge the contribution of Dr Richard Fink, who lead the research at the West Middlesex University Hospital and secured funding from the NHS London Innovation Fund.
Ladan and Misha showed that whilst Point of Care testing allows faster reporting of blood test results in A&E, this does not necessarily affect patients’ waiting times. They concluded that significant re-design of ‘patient pathways’ is required, and that Point of Care testing should only be used if this is essential to support these pathways. Ladan and Misha’s work demonstrates how rigorous research can provide the evidence needed to inform clinical practice – and I am very proud to show how Universities and practicing Healthcare Scientists can work together to form this evidence base.”
The Institute would like to congratulate Sue, Paul and their teams on their success at the AHCS awards, raising the profile of essential role of biomedical science healthcare and improving the lives of patients.