2015 Bevan Prize for Health and Wellbeing winners announced

Baroness Jane Campbell, Homerton University Hospital’s TB Team and Steve Cottrell have been announced as the winners of the 2015 Bevan Prize for Health and Wellbeing.

The Bevan Foundation’s annual prize, which is sponsored by UNISON, The Open University and the Aneurin Bevan Society, is awarded to individuals and organisations that have made an exceptional commitment to advancing health and wellbeing in their field, while championing the founding principles of the NHS.

Baroness Jane Campbell was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Bevan Prize for her tireless campaigning to achieve equal rights for disabled people through legislation and positive action. The judges highlighted her work at the British Council of Disabled People and the National Centre for Independent Living, as well as in the House of Lords.

On receipt of the award, Baroness Campbell called for an inclusive approach to healthcare and said she was accepting it on behalf of everyone who wants this kind of NHS.

The organisation Bevan Prize winner, Homerton University Hospital’s TB Team, received their award for their innovative work to tackle the high incidence of TB amongst homeless people in Hackney.

After observing poor recovery rates amongst homeless patients, as well as the high risk posed to other homeless people due to living arrangements, the team realised they needed to step in. They worked with Hackney Council’s housing department to negotiate a service level agreement to ensure that all TB patients with no recourse to public funds are housed for the duration of their TB treatment.

Steve Cottrell, a mental health nurse from North Wales, received the individual Bevan Prize for the internet-based self-help programmes he has developed for people with stress, anxiety, phobias and panic attacks.

The Betsi Cadwaladr UHB nurse said: “It’s the recognition and appreciation of my work which keeps me going and helps give me the energy to ‘press on’ when times are tough. That’s why I can’t stress too much how much this award means to me.

I have been questioning whether or not it’s worth investing my energy in further developing the programme; winning this award has helped me decide that it is, and charged my enthusiasm to continue.”

The 2015 Bevan Prize recipients join past winners including Cecilia Anim, President of the Royal College of Nursing, Dr Julian Tudor Hart and Susan Semple, a healthcare coordinator working with the homeless community in Belfast.

The eight finalists were also recognised on the evening. They included the Chief Executive of a charity supporting disabled and socially isolated people, the pioneer of the Healthy Living Pharmacy model, and an organisation tackling adolescent on parent domestic violence.

The finalists for the organisation category were:
• Cwm Taf UHB & Unite
• In It Together -Transgender Awareness Project Team (Public Health Wales)
• Media Academy Cardiff
• Wellbeing Through Work (Abertawe Bro Morgannwg UHB)

The finalists for the individual category were:
• Elizabeth Blewett
• Dr Paul Edmondson-Jones
• Michelle Farley
• Veronica Snow

This year’s shortlist and winners were decided by a panel of judges made up of David Brindle (Public Services Editor, The Guardian); Baroness Finlay of Llandaff (President, BMA); and Jaselle Williams (Trustee, Bevan Foundation).

The 2015 Bevan Prize for Health and Wellbeing was awarded on Tuesday 7th July 2015 in the Macmillan Room, Portcullis House, Westminster. We would like to thank all those who attended that evening. For more information about the Bevan Prize, please click here.

We are very grateful for the support of our sponsors:

                     

 –