Three cheers for our Black Country AHP Award winners!
Date of release: 4 December 2024
Three “inspirational” Wolverhampton healthcare heroes have been crowned Black Country award winners at a regional ceremony.
From left, Charlotte Colesby, Charlotte Shillito and Jen Cartwright with their awards
Charlotte Colesby won the inaugural Allied Health Professionals’ (AHP) Council’s Excellence Award for Regional/National Impact, Charlotte Shillito won the AHP Workforce Transformation Award, and Jen Cartwright is the Black Country AHP Council Award winner.
Charlotte Colesby is Deputy Chief AHP/Speech and Language Therapy Services Manager, Charlotte Shillito is a Highly Specialist Speech and Language Therapist, and Jen is Education Programme Lead on the Integrated Care System (ICS) People Programme.
The trio of The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust (RWT) successes means the organisation won three of the eight Black Country AHP Awards, all presented by Sally Roberts, Chief Nursing Officer for the Black Country Integrated Care Board (ICB) at Himley Hall.
Charlotte Colesby’s highlights include being:- A valued member of The Royal College of Speech and Language Therapy’s (RCSLT) workforce strategy group
- Invited to Buckingham Palace, thanks to her work with RCSLT on influencing, leadership and workforce
- Recognised by RCSLT as an inspirational leader, asked to share her career journey at the first group of the Inspire Leadership Programme 2024-25
She has also developed a job-planning tool for her service, attracting interest from RCSLT, other AHPs and NHS England.
Her published research has been quoted recently by the national team, and in Chief AHP Officer for England Suzanne Rastrick’s national address on AHPs Day.
She said: “Winning this award was a complete surprise and a huge honour. I’m still smiling now!”
Dr Leslie, who is also Chief AHP at RWT, added: “Congratulations to our very deserving winner of this new award.”
Charlotte Shillito’s award acknowledges individual AHPs, AHP support workers or teams demonstrating transformation through innovation in AHP workforce.
“It was very unexpected, but such an honour and a privilege,” she said.
She developed a database used by service leads and the Chief AHP team for data and analysis, including deep dives.
Charlotte produced an interactive digital version of the career map which is set to inform staff, as well as steps to attract the future workforce.
She has also provided recommendations following a Health Education England review, drawing this work together.
Dr Leslie added: “When Charlotte began her Chief AHP Fellowship for Workforce I wondered if it was possible to address four projects. She’s achieved all of these to a standard way above expectations.”
RWT has retained this award after Sharon Dhadda, Radiology Workforce Lead, won it last year.
Jen, who is on secondment with The Dudley Group NHS Foundation Trust, has been an AHP Programme Lead, working with the faculty for more than two years.
Described by Dr Leslie as “kind and supportive, a delight to work with”, she has increased placement capacity and diversity across the professions, organisations and into the private, independent and voluntary sector and Primary Care.
ENDS
- The eight Black Country AHP Awards covers around 2,700 registered AHPs across five NHS Trusts – RWT, Walsall Healthcare, Sandwell and West Birmingham, The Dudley Group, and Black Country Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust.
- Extended to West Midlands Ambulance Service, the local authority and private/voluntary sector, there are approximately 4,700 registered AHPs and 545 AHP support workers from Primary and Secondary Care in the area.
- For further information, please call Tim Nash on 07714 741097 or email tim.nash2@nhs.net
