Assistant practitioner in children’s occupational therapy and physiotherapy at Leicestershire Partnership NHS Trust (LPT), Karen Ellames, has just been named as the winner of the Clinical Support Worker of the Year 2018 Award for the East Midlands region in the national Our Health Heroes Awards which are supported by NHS Health Education England, and are now in their third year. She is now in the running for the national award in this category, the winners for which will be announced at a special ceremony at the OXO2 Tower in London on Friday 23 November.
The Health Heroes Awards (supported by Health Education England) recognise the hard work and dedication of healthcare staff. They acknowledge
teams and individuals who go above and beyond, and who are creative and innovative in their roles. The Clinical Support Worker of the Year 2018 Award specifically celebrates the input of clinical support workers (such as healthcare assistants, maternity support workers, theatre support workers, physiotherapy and occupational therapy assistants, podiatry assistants, dietetic assistants, and orthotic and prosthetic technicians) in the direct delivery of care within the health sector.
Karen was nominated by Kirsty Gosling, LPT’s team leader for children’s therapy. Kirsty said: “Karen’s really skilled at building relationships with children with challenging behaviour and complex needs, especially those who don’t initially comply with therapeutic intervention. She creates therapy games to engage them themed around their interests. Many of the families we see are coping with difficult situations, and Karen goes above and beyond for them adapting her approach to ensure their needs are met. She’s recently achieved her foundation degree, and has developed her skills in specialist areas, enabling her to provide valuable support in clinics. This allows therapists more time to treat children with more complex needs.
I nominated her because she has such a big impact on our service, making things better both for our patients and for her colleagues. We’re very grateful to have her as part of our team. Please do vote for her to be crowned the national winner!”
Karen is one of 12 regional winners for this award. The overall national award will be determined by a public vote via the Skills for Health website
(www.skillsforhealth.org.uk/OHH).
- NOTES TO EDITORS
Leicestershire Partnership NHS Trust (LPT) provides community health, mental health and
learning disabilities services for the one million people living in Leicester, Leicestershire and
Rutland. We have a budget in excess of £275 million and employ approximately 5,500 staff.
For more information visit: www.leicspart.nhs.uk. Our registered charity is called Raising
Health (charity number 1057361). The charity fundraises to support excellent care initiatives,
equipment and innovations which go above and beyond core NHS provision to enhance the
experience of our patients, service users and staff. See www.raisinghealth.org.uk - For more information, please contact Rosie Huckle Communications Manager for Families,
Young People and Children’s Services, Leicestershire Partnership NHS Trust, Tel: 0116 295
0802, Email: rosie.huckle@leicspart.nhs.uk