Two Nottinghamshire doctors won top prizes at a national awards ceremony for their work to improve the lives of those struggling with severe and enduring mental illness.
Dr Sree Thamburaja, Consultant Forensic Psychiatrist at Cygnet Hospital Clifton, an inpatient mental health hospital for men, and Dr Enrique Bonell, Consultant Psychiatrist at Cygnet Sherwood Lodge, a specialist inpatient service on Rufford Colliery Lane for men with learning disabilities, were singled out during the Cygnet Annual Psychiatrists Conference and National Awards 2023.
Organised by Cygnet Health Care, one of the UK’s largest independent providers of specialised mental health services for the NHS and local authorities, the Cygnet Innovator of the Year award was won by Dr Thamburaja and celebrates a doctor who has driven innovation to improve the quality of services, empowering service users and putting them at the centre of care, engaging stakeholders and reducing stigma. Dr Bonell won the Outstanding Achievement award in recognition of his long service.
Presenting the award to Dr Thamburaja, Stephen Firn OBE, Cygnet Health Care’s CEO of Healthcare, said: “Dr Thamburaja has lead one of the quality improvement projects, life-changing relationships, with service user involvements. She has developed an induction programme for new staff and has ensured service users deliver some of the training sessions.
“She has created a service-user focused environment and has reduced the stigma associated with personality disorder unit and low secure units.
“I was blown away by the range and quality of her work which showcased her talents.”
Upon receiving her award, Dr Thamburaja, said:” I feel highly honoured that Cygnet and my colleagues have chosen me as the winner of this prestigious award.
“To be recognised for innovating and providing service users with the highest level of support is a privilege. I try every day to make a difference to the lives of those we support and winning this award filled me with pride.
“For me, the best part of my job is that I work with a fantastic team and service user group. They are kind, smart, resilient and dedicated to changing lives for the better.”
Upon receiving his `Swan’ award for Outstanding Achievement, Dr Bonell said: “I feel highly honoured that Cygnet has chosen me as the winner of this award.
“To be recognised for doing a good job and providing service users with the highest level of support is a privilege. At Sherwood Lodge, we try every day to make a difference to the lives of those we support and, without the clinical team, support staff and hospital manager this would not be possible.
“For me, the best parts of my job are being part of a fantastic team and seeing our service users moving on with their lives”
Presenting the Cygnet Lifetime Achievement Award to Dr Enrique Bonell, Dr Tony Romero, CEO of Cygnet Health Care, said: “I’m very pleased to present this award to Enrique who I’ve known for many years. He is one of the most knowledgeable doctors in the field of learning disabilities and yet one of the most humble. He is very much an unsung hero and I would like to say thank you for all your years of dedication.
“This accolade is testament to the hard work, commitment and dedication of Enrique. At Cygnet Group, we strive to provide the highest quality and standard of care and always put our service users at the heart of what we do. This is demonstrated impeccably by Enrique.”