The Mental Health Award is open to a department or individual carer/nurse/doctor who specialises in the care and treatment of Mental Health with Worcestershire.

Sponsored by: NHS Herefordshire and Worcestershire Health and Care

The 2023 awards will culminate in a black tie dinner for all the finalists at the Abbey Hotel in Malvern on Thursday, September 14, where the winners will be announced.

Here are your finalists:

KEMP – The Wyre Forest Hospice

KEMP Hospice Family Support and Bereavement Services Team provide support to adults, young people and children who have had a bereavement, and counselling and emotional support to palliative patients and their families who are facing life limiting illness.

They provide reassurance and a safe space for people to explore and express their emotions. Talking therapy helps patients come to terms with their life-limiting diagnosis, with the team providing support to them at any stage.

They give loved one’s time out from everyday life to talk freely without judgement, express their grief and understand their emotions. KEMP also work alongside children and families facing life without a family member. KEMP counsellors work hard to provide additional activities to support the Wyre Forest community.

These include Memory Days for children and young people, giving them opportunities to meet and talk with peers facing similar situations.

Liza Moseley

LIZA Moseley started her career in care just over two years ago, and has never looked back. Since leaving school she had been a hairdresser but when Covid struck it hit the industry hard – that’s when Liza’s journey in care began.

She joined Civicare Central, Droitwich, which provides domiciliary care, as a support worker.

She said: “I enjoy every aspect of the care sector, from being the first person and sometimes the only person a service-user may see that day; making sure they have everything they need; listening to what they want to talk about; encouraging them every step of the way; helping to build their confidence and making them feel that they do still matter and have a great purpose.

“For me to be even nominated for an award, let alone be a finalist is overwhelming. At the end of the day each and every one of us are winners”.

Liza gets to meet different people from all walks of life but there is one particular client she visits who has made much progress. She said: “He [the client] is the hero not me.”

Jacob Thompson

JACOB Thompson is the only Mental Health Paramedic covering Worcestershire. He works on a Blue-Light Rapid Response Vehicle, often with a registered mental health nurse, responding to mental health emergencies across the county.

He monitors all 999 calls going into the West Midlands Ambulance Service for the Worcestershire area, liaises with Worcestershire Mental Health Crisis Resolution Team, and responds to patients in Mental Health Crisis/ Emergencies.

These patients will often be at their most vulnerable and require prompt care, compassion, reassurance and support.

Between these cases, Jacob is available as a paramedic to respond to the highest priority life-threatening emergency calls, and will usually respond as a first resource. He also assists ambulance crews, staff in the Emergency Operations Control Room, and police officers who are on scene or dealing with patients, offering advice and support.

He said: “I feel very privileged to have been nominated for this award. I am very passionate about mental health, and the positive impact my role can provide to patients.”