Adolescent & Child Healthcare Award finalists

Paediatric and Neonatal Consultant, GWH

Dr Sarah Bates

Dr Bates said: “What a lovely surprise, I'm so honoured to receive this nomination. I have been so grateful to work with amazing neonatal, paediatric and maternity teams throughout this long and challenging pandemic.”

Dr Bates was nominated by Kate Myrie, who said: “Dr Sarah Bates works incredibly hard across both the Children’s Ward and the Special Care Baby Unit (SCBU) at Great Western Hospital. She has been instrumental in improving the care that young patients receive, and has introduced a number of new initiatives and improvement programmes that have had incredible success and have improved services for patients and their families. Dr Bates’ work, along with her team, has meant that SCBU (now Neonatal Unit) has been awarded the stage 2 Baby Friendly Accreditation, which recognises their hard work in improving care for babies born in Swindon and Wiltshire. This is an incredible achievement, especially given that the team was awarded this recognition in the middle of the Covid-19 pandemic.

"Dr Bates has also introduced delivery room cuddles, which support early parental contact for mothers with babies born prematurely. These benefit both the mother and baby in reducing maternal stress and improving bonding and emotional wellness as well as supporting baby’s heart rate stabilisation, breathing patterns and blood oxygen levels, and are now a standard practice for all births.

Dr Bates has also chaired a national working group for British Association of Perinatal Medicine (BAPM) to produce a toolkit to improve early breast milk provision for preterm babies."

Family Nurse Partnership

Family Nurse Partnership

FNP team manager Tracey Modica said: “We are extremely honoured to be nominated for such an important award. We are grateful for the recognition the team is receiving for the vital role we play within Swindon community. “

They were nominated by Rachel Costis, who said: “This team of nurses are responsible for the care of young parents in Swindon. Through Covid they have continued their service to work with some of the most vulnerable famillies in Swindon. They take on the role of nurse, mentor, social worker, GP and advocate. Unlike any other team, they work with famillies for 2.5 years to teach them how to parent, attachment, health advice they are the experts at safeguarding, and keep more children safe and with their families than any other team I know. They have created better links into mental health services, social care and health visiting. The team have been recognised nationally by the FNP national unit as being the best and are often selected for pilots/ pathways that are then rolled out to others. They guide and encourage voluntary services, provide advice when needed and work at a level much above their pay. They are well respected by all."

Swindon Ten to Eighteen Project (STEP)

From left STEP team members Tracey Dobson, Johanna Bryant, Liz Haunton and Amy Law

Project director Johanna Bryant said: "All our staff, volunteers and trustees are dedicated to ensuring that we inform, guide, and inspire young people from across Swindon to overcome the challenges they face, enabling them to become positive members of their families, peer groups and communities. We are humbled that this hard work has been recognised."

STEP were nominated by Pam Webb, who said: “STEP do brilliant work providing a safe and supportive environment for children and young people aged 7-18 in Swindon who are experiencing isolation and exclusion due to either their lack of social skills, personal circumstances or poverty. Like many charities facing the fundraising challenges of COVID it would have been easier to close the door but they didn’t and have continued to provide critical virtual support to these vulnerable young people and their families throughout the pandemic. They have worked creatively to continue to deliver support to young people and families through regular virtual workshops delivered via Microsoft teams and by replacing face to face activity with a range of paper toolkits delivered to families covering anger management, self esteem and body image and relationships, among others."