Showcase Event 2008

Staff, patients and members of the local community attended the Charity's Showcase Event in July to celebrate the Charity's contribution to health service innovation and improvement.

Projects supported by the Charity were asked to nominate their work for commendation, with the public voting for their favourites. Alongside the Best New Service or Service Improvement, Best Example of Patient / Service User involvement and Best Environmental Improvement or Art project categories, voters also decided the most inspirational fundraising activity.

Speaking at the event, Baroness Cumberlege commended the Charity's work: “The involvement of patients at the heart of service improvement is one aspect of Guy’s and St Thomas’ Charity’s work which I think is so important. It is crucial that people are consulted and involved in service improvement.”

See a gallery of photos from the event »

The Showcase Projects

Best New Service or Service Improvement
Best Example of Patient / Service User involvement
Best Environmental Improvement or Art project
Best Fundraising Activity
Research and Development
Performing Arts

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Scooping the Best New Service or Service Improvement award was the transformed Urology Centre at Guy’s Hospital, made possible with Charity funding of £3.1 million. The centre benefits from a completely new approach to patient care, which has eradicated waiting times. All diagnostic tests are done on the same day and patients receive a letter for their next appointment or arrange a suitable date for surgery before they leave. Patients were consulted about the improvements and bespoke artwork was commissioned by the Charity.

Mr Tim O’Brien, Consultant Urologist, said: “I am delighted that the project has been recognised as an example of novel health service transformation. It has been no small undertaking, but with the dedication and support of a strong team I hope we have been able to bring about improvements which will not only improve care at Guy’s and St Thomas’ but set a precendent for Urology services across the UK.”

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The RETRAIN project, which reflects a step-change in how people with mental ill health receive care through staff coaching received the title of Best Example of Patient / Service User Involvement. The training programme has been developed by the South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust and the Institute of Psychiatry, King’s College London with funding of £206,500, so that staff can encourage patients to identify their own goals and methods of recovery, giving them more choice about the care they receive.

Tom Craig, Professor of Social Psychiatry at King’s College London’s Institute of Psychiatry, said: “We are grateful that the Charity has realised the importance of empowering patients to manage their own care. By drawing upon real stories and insights, staff can now help people gain the confidence to be more independent.”

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The Charity has funded a number of projects which use art as therapy to complement traditional medicine. The use of art to express taboo issues is at the heart of the “HIV: Do you see what I see” project, which won theBest Environmental Improvement or Art Project category. Health First – a specialist health promotion agency for Lambeth, Southwark and Lewisham (LSL) which closed in June 2008 - submitted the bid for funding with Lambeth Primary Care Trust and the LSL HIV Service Provider Group. The HIV Voluntary sector recruited people living with HIV to take part in workshops to discuss how they wished to portray the sensitive issue of HIV disclosure (telling others including their families about their HIV Status). They selected various media, including photography, painting, drawing and writing. The final artworks were collated to create mobile displays which have been used on training courses, and health promotion conferences as well as part of Worlds AIDS Day. They will continue to be available for future health promotion and other community events.

Graham Rushbrook, former Director of Health First said: “The Charity's funding allowed us to extend the scope and breadth of the project we had planned, effectively extending the reach of the work to those who experience oppression and stigma on an almost daily basis. I think the artwork expressed that all too often it is the services provided to improve people's lives that cause them the most distress, and the use of art allowed them to challenge that, express their frustrations and report their joy in completely different ways.”

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The contribution of those who undertake amazing feats of endurance to support the Charity’s work was also acknowledged. Andy Corcoran and Andy Jones received the award for Best Fundraising Activity in recognition of their marathon across the Sahara desert – the Marathon des Sables - in March 2008. Andy Jones’ wife Caroline works in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit and he was moved to support their work after reading some letters of thanks from the parents of children who had received care there. Their efforts attracted more than £26,000 for the Evelina Children’s Hospital Appeal’s ‘Tiny Lives’ campaign and funded a much needed incubator.

Andy Jones said: "The Evelina is very close to our hearts. After reading the letters to thank neonatal staff it really hit home what an incredible job the nurses and doctors do. The race itself was just extraordinary. My body and mind have changed completely – truly anything is possible if you just don’t give up.”

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Charity Research and Development grants were also featured at the event, with updates on key projects. The film features interviews with King's College London, Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust and Integrated Cancer Centre beneficiaries, and shows progress on refurbishment schemes and the translational research programme, with Director of Grant Making David Jones delivering and overarching view of the Charity's R&D strategy.

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Guests at the Showcase Event were treated to various live performances from internationally feted artists commissioned by the Charity's Performing Arts programme. Pianist Jose Senitio got guests in the mood during the drinks reception, and guitarist Dimitris Dekavallas drew the audience to their seats. Harpist Jean Kelly, who played on the film soundtrack for 'Lord of the Rings' gave a performance onstage after winners had collected their awards, and actress Susanna Howard gave an emotive reading from the Living Words programme. Susanna has been working with dementia patients at Guy's and St Thomas' and in local community care homes, recording their memories and thoughts in poetry and words.