Upper Limb Studio at National Spinal Injuries Centre highly commended at Health Service Journal Awards 2021
We are pleased to announce that the Upper Limb Studio at the National Spinal Injuries Centre (NSIC), Stoke Mandeville Hospital, has been highly commended in the Acute Sector Innovation of the Year category at this year’s Health Service Journal (HSJ) Awards, recognising their diligence and commitment to the healthcare industry across the past 12 months.
The inspiring initiative, which has been running for 7 months, provides one-to-one and group therapy for spinal cord injured patients. This is carried out by Occupational Therapists who are specifically trained in the principles of Activity Based Restorative Therapy, which is an important and growing area of spinal cord injury research. Therapists will work with a patient using a range of carefully selected rehabilitation technology in a designated purpose-built environment to facilitate repetitive movement in order to achieve functional activities with a particular goal in mind such as feeding, drinking, return to driving, carrying out aspects of personal care, and return to work. Using technology to support their upper limbs during therapy helps patients gain greater confidence and independence following a spinal cord injury.
With over 1000 entries and 23 categories, the awards drew attention to the “high-flyers” of healthcare excellence in both the NHS and its partners who strive to improve outcomes and services for both patients and staff alike. The Upper Limb Studio was highly commended due to their focus on excellence, conscientious hard work and the demonstrable positive impact that their project has within the health and social care sectors.
Ruth Peachment, Occupational Therapy Clinical Specialist at the NSIC, Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust, comments; “We are so proud to have been recognised by the HSJ Awards and highlighted as highly commended in the Acute Sector Innovation of the Year category. Recognition of this calibre means a huge amount to everyone involved in this project.
“Being amongst a remarkable cohort of nominees was a brilliant experience, and we are certain that this commendation will bolster our efforts moving forward and will motivate the team further in continually developing and improving our services.”
HSJ Editor Alastair McLellan offers his congratulations to the Occupational Therapy team who run the Upper Limb Studio; “I’d like to offer my congratulations to the team. We believe the Upper Limb Studio really holds the value of the HSJ Awards – in terms of sharing best practice, improving patient outcomes, and demonstrating innovation – at the centre of what they do. Congratulations again on your brilliant efforts, I’m looking forward to seeing what the future holds for you and your colleagues!”
The full list of winners and highly commended categories for the HSJ Awards 2021 can be found here.