Supporting Learners in Health and Care Award Winner
Emma Steeles (Manchester)
Manchester Royal Infirmary (MRI)
Emma worked in the main theatre at MRI for eight years as an operating department practitioner (ODP). During this time she was and still is deeply passionate and proud of her work in a perioperative environment where patients are most vulnerable. It won’t surprise you to hear that she has always been committed to promoting learning and development as a means to improve the quality of care and she has been driven by a set of very clear goals in her work. This has meant she was able to seamlessly move into a new and challenging job to support others just twelve months ago.
Emma is adamant about the importance of supporting student ODPs in her new role as a clinical skills facilitator. She has a clear sense of responsibility and an ambition to develop and improve all the perioperative care given by future practitioners. She states with confidence that the early experience that student ODPs receive through their training will influence the practitioners they become in the future. In just a short space of time she has transformed the support for student ODPs at MRI, devising key learning resources and rolling out new student support packages. She continually aspires to ensure all students and their mentors have the right knowledge, skills and support to deliver safe, efficient and compassionate care by working alongside students and with colleagues, never imposing from above, but drawing on knowledge and building perspective in a reflective manner.
Nominated by Sharon Green
Supporting Learners in Health and Care Runners Up
Arts Loco in partnership with PARTIA – Elaine McNeill – Liverpool John Moores University
Paula O’Malley – Aintree University Hospital Trust, Liverpool
Career Progression in Health and Care Award Winner
Paul Connor (Liverpool)
Tom Harrison House
Paul was Tom Harrison House’s (THH) first graduate. Ross, his nominator says,’ Paul is hands-down the most stunning example of someone who, given the right opportunities, has turned his life around 180 degrees. When the team first met Paul, his life was literally in ruins – his physical and mental health had broken down to an alarming degree, he had destroyed his family relationships and had lost his dignity and self-respect. He had been living on the streets for years and he was totally dependent on alcohol, an addiction that almost killed him on several occasions. One thing that shone through all this chaos and destruction was Paul’s determination to lift himself out of that life when the opportunity to engage with THH arose, and to work hard with us on beginning to change his situation.’
Paul has embraced learning in every situation that has presented itself since his first day at THH. His journey commenced when he joined the main THH programme where he began to learn more about himself and his addiction. He continued after his time in rehab with volunteering, training, part-time employment and eventually his most recent undertaking – training in his passion for photography – in a job that he loves. These opportunities have all arisen from Paul’s own sense of determination and a willingness to challenge himself; and because he has been so open to learning in the form of the unique THH addiction programme which has proved transformational. Paul adds, ’The THH programme gave me my life back. It was life changing.’
Nominated by Ross Forest
Joint Career Progression in Health and Care Runners Up
Gayle Davidson – The Carleton Clinic, Cumbria Partnership NHS FT
Steven Lee – Walton Neurology Centre, Liverpool
Certificate of Recognition
Apprentice of the Year in Health and Care Award Winner
Colette Doran (Cumbria)
Cumbria Partnership NHS Foundation Trust (CPFT)
Colette is no stranger to facing challenges head on. She not only juggles her job as a support worker with her apprenticeship at the NHS community rehabilitation service in Carlisle whilst being a busy single mum; but she also maintains a demanding commitment to a rigorous training schedule. We should mention Colette is a carer who also throws a very mean javelin. As an international athlete she holds a British record and she will be representing Great Britain in the Deaflympics. So you won’t be surprised to hear that although Colette has been deaf from birth – despite her impairment and a car accident that nearly killed her – she has never let it get in her way.
She is a passionate apprentice who enthuses about the power of learning to instil confidence in the care workforce whilst she is ambitiously planning her next steps in to become a nurse associate . As a clear team player she says everyone should be encouraged to, ’commit to learning and development because it enhances knowledge, understanding and skills to do the job efficiently.’
Stephanie her nominator adds, ‘Colette promotes learning and development in the workplace and she acts as a role model and encourages others to enhance their development.’ Stephanie notes that she believes Colette is constantly motivated to do more by her competitive side because of her sport interests; but Colette is also a reflective learner who regularly draws on her own experiences to enhance patient communication and evidences this well in her formal studies.
Nominated by Stephanie Watson
Joint North West Apprentice of the Year in Health and Care Runners Up
Liam Potter – Families and Babies (FAB), Bolton
Rosemarie Lee – Ward 11 and 12 – Central Manchester University Hospital NHS Trust
Winners announced for Learning Matters Health and Care Awards 2017
As part of the joint regional award programme and learning campaign between Voluntary Sector North West (VSNW) and Health Education England (HEE), the Learning Matters Awards celebrates all kinds of learning across the health and care sector. We are pleased to announce the thirteen winners, who will receive their awards at the ceremony on Monday 15th June.
The nominations they reviewed reflected a diversity of people and projects in the NHS, local authorities, the voluntary and private sector. They encompassed clinicians, carers, patients and the public in both paid and volunteer roles. They featured people taking their first steps into work and education, those who tirelessly volunteer year after year and people who selflessly and skilfully support the development of others.
These nominations all had one thing in common. They were all outstanding examples of the benefits of any investment in learning and development for people and organisations. They all illustrated just how and why adult learning is good for people and – importantly for everyone in the health and care sector – especially the patients and service users. The impact of this learning was transformational for all those involved. Award categories reflected the concerns and priorities of all award partners and sponsors through a number of overarching themes. This meant the award categories guaranteed a richness of nominations which then subsequently provided an incredibly powerful narrative of what success looks like in health and care for the region.
The awards are part of a cross sector adult learning campaign which recognises the contribution that adult learning makes to individual, community and economic wellbeing as well as the continued development of the health and care sector. The overarching theme is simple: lifelong learning is good for people, organisations and health.
““We are proud to be working with Health Education England and their partners to deliver the 2017 Learning Matters Awards in Health and Care. We have taken great pride in leading this year’s awards development. We believe it is more important than ever to recognise the achievements of those people and organisations who invest in their own learning and that of others; and to recognise the positive impact that this can have on the wider community.”
”We were particularly pleased to see clear examples of effective cross-sector working and asset based community development where voluntary and community organisations can play an important part in increasing health and wellbeing across the North West, and in reducing the health inequalities that exist. Congratulations to all those who have been nominated and well done to all the winners.””
Find out who the winners are below.
HEE individual awards
Apprentice of the Year in Health and Care Award
Career Progression in Health and Care Award
Supporting Learners in Health and Care Award
Volunteer of the Year in Health and Care Award
Widening Participation in Health and Care Award
HEE project awards
Widening Participation in Health and Care Award
Sponsored awards
Asset Based Approaches to Community Development Award
Digital Innovation in Health Care Award
Social Purpose Learning Champion Award
Social Purpose Learning in Action Award
The regional award ceremony will be hosted by the Manchester Museum on Monday 15 June 2017. An awards profile booklet will be available electronically after this date and winner photographs will be posted.
Ground-breaking scheme aims to sign up 20,000 ‘cancer champions’ to save lives
A new movement bringing together 20,000 ‘cancer champions’ to step up the fight against cancer across Greater Manchester is calling for people to get involved. Cancer champions use their experience, knowledge and passion to support those at risk of developing cancer and those recently diagnosed with the disease. You can get involved by signing up here.
Cancer survival rates are improving across Greater Manchester. In 2000, the chance of surviving a year after diagnosis in Greater Manchester was 58 per cent. The gap has closed in recent years and the survival rate in 2013 stood at 69.9 per cent, just under the national average. The aim for Greater Manchester is to increase that rate to 75 per cent or higher by 2020.
However, there is still a lot to do. Although survival rates are up, due to our ageing population the number of people being diagnosed with cancer in Greater Manchester is growing. In 2014, 14,500 people were diagnosed with cancer, compared with 13,600 in 2011. In 2013, 6,700 died from the disease.
But we are in a better position to fight cancer than ever before. We know that up to 40 per cent of cancers are preventable through lifestyle changes. We also know that cancers that have been diagnosed at an early stage, before they have had the chance to get too big or spread, are more likely to be treated successfully. This new initiative aims to help support people take charge of their own health and wellbeing, and help those with cancer get diagnosed and treated earlier.
A wide range of voluntary sector organisations are working together to lead this work, funded and coordinated by Greater Manchester Vanguard Innovation, part of Greater Manchester Cancer, the cancer programme of Greater Manchester Health and Social Care Partnership, and also jointly funded by NHS England.
The work focuses on supporting new and existing cancer champions who will get involved in their local communities. They will share messages that will help reduce adult smoking rates and other unhealthy behaviours that increase a person’s risk of getting cancer, prevent avoidable cancer deaths by encouraging people to take up cancer screening invitations or go to their GP if they have symptoms they are worried about. They will also get feedback from people to help improve patients’ experience of cancer treatment and care.
Cancer champion Gilbert Morgan, who was given the all-clear from prostate cancer in 2014, said: ‘It’s easy to get involved and it’s very rewarding to be able to help people look after themselves.’
‘I’ve been a cancer champion for a couple of years now and it’s a great way of raising people’s awareness because the people you are talking to know and trust you.’
‘You don’t need any skills, qualifications or any special knowledge of cancer to be a cancer champion. It’s about real people talking to real people, and it really does make a difference.’
As a cancer champion, you can become involved in a very wide range of activities, including:
- Becoming a volunteer with a local community group to get more people talking about how to prevent cancer
- Using your experiences to talk about cancer prevention, even just with friends and family
- Visiting events and communities to find new ways to talk about cancer prevention
If this sounds like something you would like to get involved in, something you are doing and want to connect to others, and you want to help save lives, sign up by visiting our cancer champion sign up page. It’s free, you can do it in your spare time and training opportunities will be made available.
Lord Peter Smith, Chair of Greater Manchester Health and Social Care Partnership Board said:
‘Devolution in Greater Manchester has given us a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to undertake this pioneering work on a scale that has not been attempted before.’
‘I’m delighted that so many volunteers are getting involved and using their personal experiences to engage others. This is another example of Greater Manchester leading the way in adopting new approaches to critical health issues.’
Jane Pilkington, Deputy Director of Population Health at Greater Manchester Health and Social Care Partnership and Vanguard Innovation Prevention Lead, said:
‘We are very excited about this programme. We plan to connect and support the energy of groups of people across the community to make our cancer champions movement a success. Eventually it will develop its own momentum and we are confident that, as a result, we will see continued improvements in cancer outcomes and care for the people of Greater Manchester.’
MoU between GM Health & Social Care Partnership an the VCSE sector in Greater Manchester
The flyer below provides a summary of the Memorandum of Understanding between GM Health & Social Care Partnership an the VCSE sector in Greater Manchester. This builds upon the work by the VCSE Devolution Reference Group, over the past year in supporting the partnership in its goals for improving health and wellbeing in Greater Manchester.
The MoU was negotiated by the VCSE Devolution Reference Group on behalf of the sector in Greater Manchester, to which VSNW provides the secretariat. You contact us for more information on it or you can find out more about our work on devolution here.
Third Sector Trends in the North West of England
Tony Chapman, honorary professor at the University of Durham, has produced a report in partnership with IPPR North regarding third sector trends across the North and the North West of England.
The statistics produced from the report showed that across the North West, 133,000 people are in full-time employment combined with 430,000 volunteers contributing 30 million hours (per annum), worth between £475m and £816m. The total GVA from these figures equates to £2.5bn.
Across the north as a whole, statistics showed that 233,000 people are in full-time employment combined with 930,000 volunteers contributing 66 million hours (per annum) with a total GVA of £5.4bn.
Number of full-time employees and volunteers working in the voluntary sector
Not only does the data highlight the number of people involved within the sector; it also indicates the contribution from the North West to the region as a whole. These figures highlight the value and importance of the voluntary sector across the North not only at a fiscal level, but also in showing the amount of hours that volunteers invest over the year.
As the report concludes, one of the main strengths of the sector is its sheer size as a whole; as well as the strength of the positive relationships between organisations (both formal and informal), between TSOs and with the public and private sector; and the crucial role of volunteers in sustaining third sector activity.
It is because of these strengths that the sector continues to show great resilience and the capacity to adapt in the face of a stagnating economy, increasing demand, and the continuation of the government’s austerity agenda.
The full report is available here
VSNW and infrastructure partners in the North West have supported the research conducted by and thank groups who contributed towards the project.
Setting the Mayoral Agenda
Mike Wild, Chief Executive at MACC
Why we need an alchemist with a practical working knowledge of doughnut
With mayoral elections for Greater Manchester and five areas across England fast approaching, how are people supposed to judge who is the best fit for a role which is so little understood? Candidates are left both trying to market the role itself and to prove their capability of taking it on.
As a member of the Greater Manchester VCSE sector Devolution Reference Group I have been in various meetings with candidates, pressing the case for a collaborative relationship with the voluntary, community and social enterprise sector. Of course, that is not an end in itself: the outcome we are seeking is a shared ambition to eradicate inequality in Greater Manchester in a generation. It is an unashamedly big ask. We have no expectation that the mayor will be able to deliver on it alone: it is the collaboration which will be crucial. It will be fundamental to the role because the Greater Manchester Mayor is not the same role as the London Mayor, simply an 11th member of the combined authority – not above or below but alongside.
The mayor will hold considerable ‘soft power’, with the largest electoral mandate in the North West, a built-in political and media profile when he or she speaks and the potential to shape the conversation. Whoever is elected will suddenly become the face of ‘Devo Manc’ and surely a key figure in the ‘northern powerhouse’.
They will need the skills of an alchemist and have to create a potent brew from these various powers, connections and expectations. With no formal authority on many matters, delivering on a public mandate will require the mayor to work collectively. So far, the public sector reform agenda has focused too much on the redesign of services and not enough on the remaking of the institutions which provide them.The mayor’s office could be the model for a new culture of working and lay out the path for the combined authority and other public bodies to follow. The challenge will be making sure the mayor remains an effective catalyst: if the role becomes about taking the credit rather than enabling, its potential will be unfulfilled. If it only enables but never gets any credit, it will quickly be perceived as pointless and ineffective. The alchemy will be in blending some new balance in civic leadership.
The mayor will need to address inequalities within Greater Manchester: the ‘doughnut effect’ where the central area is (perceived to be) wealthy, surrounded by more deprived boroughs. Will redistribution within Greater Manchester be politically acceptable? With a city-region-wide electorate to answer to, the mayor will need a long term view and an understanding of the bigger picture. Nonetheless, he or she is will also need to be visibly improving the lives of those who live in, work in, study in or simply visit Greater Manchester.
There are lessons from Wales: I am impressed with the ambition in the Welsh Government’s 2015 Wellbeing of Future Generations Act. This places a duty on all public bodies to show how decisions are made with consideration of the economy, environment, society and culture. The statement that all four aspects are of value and reframe what is meant by ‘success’ or ‘growth’ is a bold ambition from which Greater Manchester could learn. This is a similar idea to challenge of the ‘Raworth Doughnut’ a view proposed by the economist Kate Raworth. She argues that the new model must lie between a socially essential minimum and the limit of natural resources:
If we want to get anywhere near to eradicating inequality within a generation, this is the transmutation we need in the way we see Greater Manchester, how we work together in it and how it is shared and seen by everyone. Our first mayor might do well to start by putting two doughnuts together.
You can read the rest of the publication here
New VSNW publication: Devolution and Beyond
A new publication by VSNW, Devolution and Beyond, compiles essays from leading thinkers and operators in devolution, exploring how the voluntary, community and social enterprise sector can be involved, in the context of the upcoming mayoral elections in May 2017, the UK's departure from the EU, and the emerging inclusive growth agenda.
With thanks to our contributors:
- Mike Wild (Macc)
- Ceri Hughes and Ruth Lupton (Inclusive Growth Analysis Unit)
- Gill Bainbridge (Merseyside Youth Association)
- Fay Selvan (Big Life Group)
- Atif Shafique (Royal Society of the Arts)
- Neil McInroy (Centre for Local Economic Strategies)
- Sean Anstee (Greater Manchester Combined Authority)
- Simone Spray (42nd Street)
- Garth Hodgkinson (Community CVS)
- Carolyn Otley (Cumbria Third Sector Network)
- Kathy Evans (Children England)
- Jim McMahon MP (Shadow Minister for Local Government and Devolution)
You can download Devolution and Beyond from our publications page