Posted on 27-October-2016   by Dee Ward

IPS Team of the Year Award Winners, sponsored by Daniels Healthcare

The IPS annual conference attracts more than 800 infection prevention professionals and is a flagship event for Daniels.

It’s been nearly three weeks since we came back from this year’s event at the Harrogate International Centre, and we are still talking about the fun we had catching up with friends and sharing some great achievements with IPC leaders.

The IPS Gala Dinner and Awards Ceremony is also a great opportunity to chat with other delegates and hear about the inspirational work of staff at the coal face of infection prevention. We’re proud to sponsor the Team of the Year award and we’re always amazed at the pioneering and innovative work the nominees do. This year was no exception.

The winners of the Team of the Year were North Yorkshire Community Infection Prevention and Control Team at Harrogate District NHS Foundation Trust.

According to the judges, the team’s “can do, will do” attitude resulted in the production of high quality online educational resources for infection prevention control in the community which aims to improve standards and reduce healthcare associated infection. The reach of these resources mirrors the IPS Strategy as they influence practice locally, nationally, and internationally. Their success is down to the skills in the multidisciplinary team, working together to make a difference in IPC.

Well done to the whole team and congratulations on the award.

The evening also saw one of our friends Sue Millward, win IPS Practitioner of the Year. Sue is an Infection Prevention Nurse Consultant with Nuffield Health and we were thrilled that such an inspirational leader and role model was recognised for her ground-breaking work.

Sue was nominated for the significant role she plays in raising standards of care and improving patient safety. Her most recent achievements include: the creation of a sustainable link practitioner system, the first of its kind in IPC; the development and accreditation of a Director of Infection of Prevention Course and; leading a review of the Society’s audit tools. Huge congratulations to Sue.

Sue Millward (centre), winner, pictured with Heather Loveday (left) and Tricia Hart (right)

Debbie Wright, IPS Honorary Secretary and Assistant Director of Infection Prevention and Control at Aintree NHS Foundation Trust said: “The calibre of the nominations in all award categories was of such a high standard. The commitment and passion of colleagues working in the field of infection prevention shone through, making it challenging to decide on the final award winners. It is a delight to be able to show appreciation to colleagues who strive to make a difference in their everyday work.”

We couldn’t agree more. Well done to all the winners and those who made the short list.

The Infection Prevention Society 2017 Awards are already open for entry. Daniels will be sponsoring next years’ Team of the Year award once again to help continue to acknowledge fellow professionals for their contribution and dedication to infection prevention. To submit a nomination, click here. Next year’s event will take place in Manchester 18-20 September and we hope to see you there.

Dee Ward

Dee is the Customer Support and Marketing Manager at Daniels. She is the key force behind a motivated and responsive team who support the Daniels customers and sales representatives day in and day out.