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PCC celebrates success at National Awards
The Patient and Client Council (PCC) is celebrating the success of two of its members, Norma Sparkes and Danielle O’Neill, who have won the ‘Patient Contribution’ Award at the prestigious Patient Experience Network National Awards 2024 (PENNA24).
The awards took place on Thursday 3 October at the University of Birmingham and are the first and only awards programme to recognise best practice in patient experience across all facets of health and social care in the UK.
Norma and Danielle won the award for their commitment and contribution to the PCC Neurology Engagement Platform, which was established in 2020 in response to the Independent Neurology Inquiry.
When nominating, Julie Wright, PCC Senior Practitioner said: “Danielle and Norma are core members of the PCC Neurology Engagement Platform. They are driven by the desire for improvements in patient safety, candour and accountability. They work in involvement with organisations when the current standards need to be improved or developed.
“Norma has been working to raise awareness of patient safety in this area for almost 20 years. For Norma her involvement has always been about improving the healthcare system, particularly within Neurology in Northern Ireland, for other patients.
“Danielle’s leadership and resilience has achieved outcomes that patients and families sought as well as having much wider outcomes in the form of learning and policy changes for the organisations involved.”
Congratulating the winners, Meadhbha Monaghan, Chief Executive of the PCC said: “We are delighted that Norma and Danielle’s work and commitment has been rewarded. Both have gone above and beyond to ensure that improvements will be implemented across Neurology Services in Northern Ireland. Congratulations on your very well deserved award.
“Transforming the Health and Social Care System, and improving the health and wellbeing of the population, can only be achieved through genuine partnership with the public.
“The public, are experts, by experience, in the care they or someone they care for has received. This award is recognition of the contribution patient experience makes. This experience and expertise should not be lost to the system, and if appropriately utilised, the public can add significant value to the commissioning and design of services, and their safety, across the region. Through their lived experience, the public know what their needs and those of their communities are, what has worked and what has not. In this sense, people, and the communities in which they live, should be seen as a core asset to the Health and Social Care system and should be appropriately involved in policy development and quality assurance, as well as being consulted, once policies have been drafted.
“We would encourage anyone with an interest in getting involved with shaping the future of health and social care services in Northern Ireland, to get in touch and to sign up to our membership scheme. You can be as involved as little, or as much as you’d like, but your experience is valuable.”
