We are proud to announce that last week we received four awards for our impact on health and care in North East Essex.
On Friday 4th July, we were nominated for, and won, four awards in the SNEE ‘Can Do’ Health and Care Awards at Rowley Mile Racecourse, Newmarket.
Suffolk and North East Essex Integrated Care System (SNEE ICS), said regarding the awards: “We want to recognise, commend, and share the excellence within our health and care system in Suffolk and North East Essex. Successful 2025 nominations will form case studies that exemplify the practice that we want to encourage throughout our system, that demonstrate the impact of innovative person-centred approaches, in partnership with people, communities and organisations, that will take forward our ‘Future Shift’ vision and strategy.”
Luke Weall and Scott Tatum
Winner – Holistic, Neighbourhood Based Care Award – Healthwatch Essex Fella’s Forum (Colchester)
Our Fella’s Forum in Colchester demonstrates a creative approach in supporting men’s health and wellbeing, by fostering a supportive atmosphere where men can take part in social and physical activities together, and also have space to chat about anything that might be worrying them. A forum member said: “Just hanging out with you guys makes a difference. I’m not on my own all the time. For a few hours I get to forget my problems and just enjoy myself.”
Find out more about our Fella’s Forums here.
Lorna Orriss-Dib
Winner – Learning from Data, Evidence, Knowledge, and Intelligence Award – Lorna Orriss-Dib and Healthwatch Essex Research Ambassadors – The Dual Challenge of Pregnancy and IBD
Our research report ‘The Dual Challenge of Pregnancy and IBD’ explored the under researched topic of how pregnancy and caring for a new-born affects the lives of women and birthing people who are already self-managing a long-term condition like IBD. Our research participants highlighted the absence of a centralised source of UK-based information on pregnancy and IBD. Working with our participants, we responded to this need, co-producing the information resource From Bump to Baby: Pregnancy and postnatal information for those with IBD. This resource provides guidance on each stage of pregnancy, suggestions about what to discuss with your maternity and IBD teams, personal reflections from women with IBD, and links to reliable websites and support forums. It also features an alert card for individuals taking biologic medication to facilitate discussions with your healthcare provider regarding your baby’s immunisation schedule.
Renée Robey
Highly Commended – Supporting Young People Award – Renée Robey for the Young Mental Health Ambassadors
Our Young Mental Health Ambassadors (YMHA) are a group of young people up to 25 years old who share their lived experience of children’s mental health services to help make changes for other young people. They are supported by our Engagement Officer, Renée Robey, who takes the time to get to know them on an individual level and ensures they are comfortable and supported throughout, as it can be difficult to share lived experiences. Find out more about our YMHA programme here.
Runner Up – Inspirational Leader Award – Sam Glover
Sam Glover, our CEO, has introduced many policies and initiatives to support staff wellbeing, such as a yearly wellbeing budget and monthly team development days to work together and learn from each other. She ensures that we are a forward thinking organisation ready to adapt to changes in the health and care sector. She encourages us to take new approaches in our work, such as holding our Expressions of Trauma exhibitions to share experiences of trauma or by running Fella’s Fair events in sports and comedy venues to connect with men.
We are proud to receive recognition for our work supporting people in North East Essex to share their experiences and make change happen. We look forward to continuing this important work.