It was celebrations all round as organisers announced the winners of the fourth annual Solihull Together Awards at the Renewal Conference Centre on Thursday 22 March.
The awards ceremony began with a surprise performance by the Birmingham and Solihull Wellbeing Community Choir. The choir promotes and maintains good mental and physical health through singing and peer support. It was a fitting start to the awards which celebrate the dedication of professionals who strive to bring about improvements in care for adults and the commitment and compassion of local people who are making a real difference in their own communities.
Speaking after the awards, Nick Page, Chief Executive of Solihull Council and Chair of the Solihull Together board, said: “Health and care organisations have a long and proud tradition of working together in Solihull to improve outcomes for our residents. To achieve our shared ambition of making the care and support we provide join up better as one system, we need to keep working together as organisations, professionals and local communities. That’s what Solihull Together is all about.
Nick continued: “It is a real privilege to meet the finalists and winners and hear their stories. What they are doing, whether in a professional or voluntary capacity, to improve the quality of people’s lives, is amazing and inspiring. We have a lot to be proud of here in Solihull.”
John Short, Chief Executive of Birmingham and Solihull Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust, said: “It was truly inspiring to hear about all the fantastic work going on to support vulnerable adults across Solihull, whether that be by health and care professionals, charities, volunteers, patients or service users. I was particularly pleased to see the high profile of mental health in this year’s awards, with not only staff and teams from our Trust recognised but also Solihull Mind, Aviary House and Aquarius. This shows how hard everyone is working to provide hope, recovery and opportunity to people with mental health issues in the borough.
John continued: "The other theme that came through strongly was that of effective partnership working in Solihull, which is essential in developing outstanding health and social care services for the benefit of our local population and reflects the fact that working together we can be bigger and stronger than the sum of our parts. A big well done to all of the fantastic individuals and teams who were nominated.”
The full list of award winners is:
Care Professional of the Year
Jacquie Fisher, Senior Practitioner, SIAS Aquarius
Care Team of the Year
Solihull Early Intervention Service from Birmingham and Solihull Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust
Collaborative Working
Solihull Enhanced Personality Disorder Pathway (Birmingham and Solihull Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust) with Aviary House Supported Living
Health Professional of the Year
Kellie Owen, End of Life Care Practitioner, Heart of England NHS Foundation Trust
Inspiring Leader
Stephen Harrison, Children and Young People and Youth Service Manager, Birmingham and Solihull Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust
Local Hero
Joint winner: Peter Brown, Chair of Solihull Mind and Service User Governor for Birmingham and Solihull Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust
Joint winner: Norma Todd, Solihull Visiting Service
Highly commended: Sajida Golby, North Solihull Additional Needs Group
Outstanding Community Project
Joint winner: Recovery College for All (Solihull branch), Birmingham and Solihull Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust
Joint winner: Solihull Wheels for All
Outstanding Customer Care
Staff at Solihull Mind
Primary Care Service of the Year
Hobs Moat Medical Centre
Chair’s Award
Joint winner: Solihull Council’s Engage Team with St Bernard’s Residential Care Home and Tender Years Day Nursery
Joint winner: Solihull Wheels for All
Visit www.solihulltogether.co.uk to read more about the awards.
