Thirty one years since it first began, the Insurance Corporation’s Health & Social Care Bursary has returned to encourage Health & Social Care (HSC) staff to bring forward their ideas to enhance local health and social care provision.
Staff behind the proposals deemed to have the most potential benefit to the Bailiwick will receive £2,500 as the top prize and £1,000 as the runner up prize to put towards furthering their ideas.
From tackling alcohol abuse in 1991, to reminiscence therapy for patients with cognitive impairment in 2019, the Bursary has been awarded to a wide range of applicants with innovative ideas that all had local care at their core. These have also included diabetes awareness, eating disorder research, improving post-treatment care for cancer patients and educational initiatives for parents of children in the health and social care system.
Last year, Kelly Marquis, a paramedic frailty practitioner on secondment from the St John Emergency Ambulance Service to HSC, won the full bursary of £2,500 to get her idea off the ground.
She proposed a ‘Cake and Consultation’ programme which would proactively reach out to the elderly population to help identify problems with frailty early on, before a person required emergency response or hospital admission. Islanders were to receive milestone birthday cards from the age of 70, from St John and HSC, inviting them to attend frailty practitioner assessments.
‘We are living in an ageing population, so to be able to launch this proactive project and provide comprehensive, holistic assessments to patients in the pre-hospital setting can precociously identify persons at high risk of negative outcomes, allowing for timely intervention of preventative countermeasures.’
Managing Director of Insurance Corporation Mark Marshall said: “For 31 years we have been astounded and amazed at the quality and diversity of the projects put forward for the bursary.
“There is so much knowledge and talent within HSC, it is really exciting to see what people on the frontline come up with. There is no limit or restriction to what can be suggested, and that’s what makes the application process so exciting, but the judging section extremely challenging.”
HSC Committee Vice President, Deputy Tina Bury, said the Insurance Corporation’s continued support was hugely valued by all across HSC. “We are so grateful for the many years commitment that Insurance Corporation has given to supporting HSC. Its bursary not only helps shine a light on the invaluable role played by all of our teams, it also enables them to explore new ways to improve our services using their professional expertise and experience. It’s a really exciting way of showcasing all the talent we have across HSC.”
Submissions can be made from now until the deadline on 4th October 2022.
Click here to access the new website with details of how to apply online.
