Lifetime achievement award for Sheffield healthcare innovator
Sheffield Teaching Hospitals’ healthcare scientists have been recognised with two major award wins at the Chief Scientific Officer for England’s Excellence in Healthcare Awards.
Professor Wendy Tindale OBE, Scientific and Innovation Director at Sheffield Teaching Hospitals and Clinical Director of the National Institute for Health Research’s Devices for Dignity MedTech Cooperative, received the Lifetime Achievement Award for her exceptional scientific contribution to healthcare innovation.
Tracy Cook, Education and Training Lead Diagnostic Cardiology, Tracey Murray, Lead Respiratory Physiologist and Sarah Kelly, Service Manager Gastrointestinal Physiology Department all won the Shirley Fletcher Apprenticeship Award.
Wendy was recognised for her contribution to the delivery of a wide range of medical innovations including the introduction of hybrid imaging in the UK and the UK’s first 3D imaging laboratory in Sheffield, as well as the development of the Insigneo Institute. Insigneo uses in silico techniques to map the human body in software so treatments, diagnosis and clinical trials can be improved.
Wendy was instrumental in the establishment of Devices for Dignity, a flagship national initiative improving the lives of people living with long term illnesses by helping to bring supportive technology devices from concept to reality. One example is a revolutionary neck collar for patients with motor neurone disease which is designed to ease pain from the muscle-wasting illness and make everyday tasks such as eating and communicating much easier.
Most recently Wendy was named as the Principal Investigator of a £1.2m research project evaluating a new lightweight wearable device which can aid recovery in stroke survivors by delivering tiny electrical pulses to the arm to reduce muscle stiffness, one of the major barriers to recovery.
Healthcare science leads Tracy Cook, Tracey Murray and Sarah Kelly picked up the prestigious Shirley Fletcher Apprenticeship Award. The trio rolled out an innovative training programme to equip healthcare scientists to meet the future demands of new community diagnostic centres which are being introduced across the country.
Professor Wendy Tindale OBE, Scientific Director and Director of Innovation, Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, said: “I am tremendously honoured to have received this award, which reflects the brilliance of the teams I work with. These accolades from the Chief Scientific Officer for England demonstrate the huge contribution healthcare science has in improving patient care, both on a day-to-day clinical basis and in cutting-edge innovations and research.”
Kirsten Major, Chief Executive, Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, said: “Wendy, Tracy, Tracey and Sarah richly deserve these awards. They have worked tirelessly for patients and their dedication is something which I know inspires others to push the boundaries of science and innovation.”
Healthcare scientists work in multiple different areas in the NHS including medical imaging, diagnostics and treatments, laboratory medicine, clinical engineering and informatics. Their work has a key impact on patient outcomes, and they are involved in a huge number of clinical decisions in the NHS.
ENDS
Photos: Professor Wendy Tindale and (L-R) Healthcare science leads Tracy Cook, Tracey Murray and Sarah Kelly with their award
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