Sharon honoured with regional award
Date of release: 30 January 2024
A “fantastic” senior Wolverhampton healthcare leader has been honoured with a regional award after transforming Radiology at New Cross Hospital.
Sharon with her award
Sharon Dhadda, Radiology Workforce Lead at The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust (RWT), won the Black Country Allied Health Professional (AHP) Workforce Transformation Award.
Her award category acknowledges individual AHPs, AHP support workers or teams demonstrating transformation through innovation in AHP workforce.
Sharon heads up staffing for Radiology, which includes Diagnostic Radiography, one of 11 specialties AHPs are employed in at RWT.
The eight Black Country AHP Awards covers 2,200 registered AHPs across six NHS Trusts – RWT, Walsall Healthcare, Sandwell and West Birmingham, The Dudley Group, Dudley Integrated Health and Care Trust and Black Country Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust.
Extended to local authority and private/voluntary sector, there are approximately 4,592 registered AHPs and 545 AHP support workers from Primary and Secondary Care in the area.
Each Trust selected its own winner who was put forward for the Black Country awards, so Sharon saw off competition from five other organisations.
Sharon has revamped Radiology by increasing staff numbers to previously difficult-to-fill roles and introducing an apprenticeship scheme so the Trust can produce its own staff.
“It’s been a wonderful experience and mainly because I have the backing and support of a fantastic team,” said Sharon.
“I’m proud to contribute to making the patient journey better by recruiting, retaining and developing our staff, and to be recognised for this is a lovely bonus.”
She was presented with her award by Sir David Nicholson KCB, CBE, Group Chair of RWT and Walsall Healthcare NHS Trust at the ceremony held at West Bromwich Albion FC.
Sharon added: “I moved into this role two years ago and didn’t expect to be able to make so many significant changes in such a short space of time.
“We’ve had many firsts – our first Diagnostic Radiographer apprenticeship programme, our first experience of recruiting colleagues from an international profile in large numbers, and the introduction of a focused Clinical Education Team.”
Stuart Simper, Head of Operational Radiology, nominated Sharon. He said: “We were a struggling department understaffed in almost every area. But after Sharon became Workforce Lead, the number of staff recruited is now over 100.
“Sharon has implemented a full training team to assist junior staff to fully develop. We’re now getting applications from all over the UK.
“Her appointment made this department a sought-after place to work and her input is invaluable. She’s a fantastic member of staff.”
ENDS
- For further information, please call Tim Nash on 07714 741097 or email tim.nash2@nhs.net
