Staff recognised in Safeguarding Practice awards
The dedication, resilience, and hard work of safeguarding professionals across the mid and west Wales region has been celebrated and rewarded at the Safeguarding Practice Awards held by the Mid and West Wales Safeguarding Boards for Children (CYSUR) and for Adults (CWMPAS).
The awards recognise the contribution key workers from a variety of public sector agencies have played in keeping the most vulnerable children and adults in our communities safe and saw a number of Hywel Dda UHB staff recognised for their work.
The ceremony was attended and addressed by the Deputy Minister for Social Services Julie Morgan, who said: “It’s a great pleasure, and an honour, to be able to celebrate the Safeguarding Practice awards which recognise the hard work, skill and dedication of the recipients, especially given the extraordinary challenges the sector has faced since March 2020.
“I want to congratulate everyone who has been nominated for an award but, just as importantly, I would like to convey my gratitude to all the practitioners working across so many different sectors for the contribution they have made to safeguarding children and adults at risk.”
At the ceremony held in May at the University of Wales, Trinity St David in Carmarthen, Primary and Community Services Deputy Medical Director Dr Sion James and Deputy Associate Medical Director Dr Catherine Burrell were announced as the winners of the Participatory Practice leading to Co-production in the Safeguarding of Children or Adults at Risk award.
Dr James and Dr Burrell were recognised for the importance they place on safeguarding, and the exceptional engagement and support given to the corporate safeguarding team, including attendance at the Community and Primary Care Service Safeguarding Delivery Group, supporting statutory Child and Adult Practice Reviews, attending Domestic Homicide Review panels and challenging safeguarding practice.
In addition, Ruth Harrison, Safeguarding Children Lead Nurse, was highly commended in the same category for her lead in drafting the Regional Procedure for the Management of Injuries in Non-Mobile Children. Drafting a regional procedure is a challenging process and Ruth role modelled collaborative working to resolve different views, demonstrating tenacity and patience which resulted in endorsement across all partners within the Regional Safeguarding Board.
Also recognised with a highly commended award in the Innovation and Creativity leading to Improved Safeguarding Practice for Children or Adults at Risk category was Named Safeguarding Midwife Sian Maynard.
In 2020, Sian developed and introduced the Sharing of Safeguarding Information in Pregnancy Database within Hywel Dda UHB. This was the first of its kind in Wales, providing an electronic organisational memory regarding safeguarding concerns identified within the midwifery service. This database ensured up to date safeguarding information was available to qualified midwifery and neonatal staff across the health board.
Since this time, Sian has developed a SIP Mobile Application (SIP App), which is again a first for Wales. This secure app on health board mobile telephones for community midwives and neonatal outreach practitioners ensures they are able to access timely safeguarding information, even when in the community away from a main hospital site.
A special mention also goes to Heather Howells, Lead Safeguarding Adults Practitioner who was nominated in the Innovation and Creativity leading to Improved Safeguarding Practice for Children or Adults at Risk category.
During the COVID pandemic, Heather quickly explored a solution to deliver training virtually via Microsoft Teams, advising and guiding others to embrace this new platform and revise safeguarding training to be delivered virtually.
As a result of Heather’s innovation and diligence in finding solutions to the challenges, safeguarding training was re-established quickly with minimal delay and resulted in more staff attending virtual training sessions than previously when they were delivered face to face.