Merseyside finalists in NWC Research and Innovation Awards

PIONEERING individuals and teams from Merseyside have been shortlisted for awards recognising the best innovators and researchers in health and care.

The North West Coast Research and Innovation Awards is the only health awards event for the Region, run by 3 NHS bodies focussed on research and innovation.

Liverpool University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust was shortlisted in 6 of the 12 categories, for projects including the UK's 1st virtual ward for acute heart failure; and carbon reduction from anaesthetics in theatres.

The 3 finalists for the Unsung Hero Award, celebrating the NHS 75th Anniversary, are:- Sue Smith of 1 Wirral CIC; Dr Prathap Kanagala of Liverpool University Hospitals; and Graham Copeland of C2-Ai.

Also shortlisted from Merseyside are:-

Marie Curie Hospice Liverpool, for:- "Design meets palliative care, improving opportunities to conduct palliative care research with non-traditional stakeholders."

Wirral Community Health and Care NHS Foundation Trust, for:- "Wirral community quality improvement culture change."

Blum Health, of Birkenhead, for:- "An SME's journey to breaking down the barriers to digital health innovation."

Liverpool Women's Hospital NHS Foundation Trust and ICE Creates, for:- "Reciprocal leadership development."

C2-Ai for:- "Artificial intelligence backed prioritisation of the elective waiting list, reducing:- harm, mortality, costs, waiting times and surgeon time."

Piotr Teodorowski of the University of Liverpool, a finalist for Research Student of the Year:-

Liverpool Heart and Chest Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, for:- "Haemostatic dressing following radial artery access leading to more rapid discharge from care and fewer adverse events."

Cheshire and Merseyside Specialist Perinatal Service, for:- "Collaboration and engagement putting patient voices at the centre."

Marine Lake Medical Practice and Wirral University Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, for:- "Harmonie, a Clinical Research Network priority study."

Liverpool John Moores University, University of Liverpool and Edge Hill University, for:- "Ask Listen Act, a child centred rights-based approach to recovery and renewal for children with special educational needs and disabilities, linked to the Covid19 Pandemic."

NHS Cheshire and Merseyside for:- "Collaborative and community focused approach to sustainability."

Hosted by the Innovation Agency; Clinical Research Network North West Coast (CRN NWC); and Applied Research Collaboration North West Coast (ARC NWC) the event attracted around 180 entries.

NHS Lancashire and South Cumbria and NHS Cheshire and Merseyside are sponsoring 2 categories in the areas of sustainability and tackling health inequalities.

Twelve awards in total will showcase the best research and innovation from NHS organisations, industry and academic partners, third sector organisations, local Authorities and other collaborators in health innovation.

The winners will be announced at a ceremony on:- 22 June 2023, at:- The Royal College of Physicians, The Spine in Liverpool.

More information about the finalists can be found at:- NWCAwards.Co.UK.

Sick pets, dodgy prawns, faulty plumbing and freak gym accidents (Translation... 'I have debilitating period pain')

FROM dodgy prawns, sick pets, gym accidents and faulty plumbing to mystery viruses, new research from INTIMINA reveals the common excuses that 1 in 4 (24%) working women feel the need to use to explain their absence from work due to period pain. But that's no longer the case in Spain, which has just become the 1st country in the western world to allow women to call in sick due to:- 'incapacitating menstruation.' To highlight the ongoing stigma around time off for menstruation, INTIMINA has launched Useless Spanish Lessons, featuring the now redundant excuses that working people in Spain don't need to use to get time off from work due to period pain.

Including 6 of the most common phrases used by people when calling in sick due to menstrual pain and discomfort, such as:- "I have a mystery virus" (28%) and "I have food poisoning due to a dodgy prawn" (20%), the parody video teaches viewers how to say these phrases in Spanish - even though they would never need to. INTIMINA's Useless Spanish Lessons can be viewed on YouTube.

The campaign, which launches ahead of Menstrual Hygiene Day, on 28 May 2023, parodies the style of an online Spanish language tutorial, and aims to help break the taboo and stigma felt by women around the world discussing period discomfort in the workplace. As of February 2023, Spain has become only the fourth country to offer paid period leave, along with:- Japan, South Korea and Zambia2.

According to INTIMINA's research of British working women, 63% would support paid period leave in the UK and 49% of those surveyed would have felt the need to use it.

Just 10% said their employers have been open to giving them time off due to extreme period symptoms, with 49% saying they have experienced a lack of sympathy discussing menstrual pain with their employers or managers.

Consequently, many people experiencing pain feel obliged to continue working and suffering in silence, with 20% reporting that it has had an impact on their mental health and wellbeing.

To help campaign further for universal paid menstrual leave and a world where no 1 is held back by menstruation, INTIMINA has partnered with advocacy and education group WASH United this Menstrual Hygiene Day.

Dunja Kokotovic, Intimina Global Brand Manager at INTIMINA comments:- "It's sad that in 2023, so many women in Britain and all over the world feel forced to contrive reasons why they're not well enough to work when suffering from menstrual pain. From food poisoning and exercise injuries to sick pets and relatives and domestic disasters, these essential excuses are now useless in Spain and that's something to celebrate. At INTIMINA, we believe that everyone who menstruates should be entitled to paid menstrual leave if they need it, without guilt or judgement, and they certainly shouldn't need to make up far fetched excuses to get it. This Menstrual Hygiene Day, we hope that:- 'Useless Spanish Lessons' helps raise awareness of the need for open and honest discussions about menstruation in the workplace and brings us closer to a world where paid menstrual leave is guaranteed."

Gynaecology Specialist for INTIMINA, Dr Susanna Unsworth, adds:- "Menstruation affects everybody differently and for some their period can come with severe physical and mental symptoms. Not being able to take time off due to discomfort or having to lie to an employer can create stress and anxiety which can cause health to deteriorate even further. With INTIMINA's research showing 34% of women would use menstrual leave if it was an option and they were experiencing excruciating pain, it's clear more needs to be done in making sure people are able to take the necessary time off due to period symptoms."

Thorsten Kiefer, CEO at WASH United, the initiators of MH Day, says:- "No 1 should be stigmatised, excluded, or discriminated against just because they menstruate. Severe menstrual symptoms should be treated like any other health issue. Women who suffer from debilitating menstrual symptoms should have access to paid leave. In every country. Period."

For more information on how to talk about periods in the workplace visit:- Intimina.Com.