Top award for heart team at Peterborough City Hospital

Iona McAllister, Cardiac Rehab Co-ordinator and her team won a British Heart Foundation (BHF) Alliance Award.

The team were recognised for their work to improve care for people recovering from a heart attack or heart surgery. They redesigned their services to integrate with the psychological wellbeing service to provide emotional wellbeing support for patients.

Colleagues worked together to fast-track patients on to appropriate psychological interventions, which helped to improve patients' recovery and reduce hospital readmissions.

Iona McAllister, Cardiac Rehabilitation Co-ordinator said: “I am honoured to receive this award from the BHF. Our motivation is to improve care for people with heart conditions.”

Julie Holroyd, a Consultant Cardiology Nurse at Peterborough City Hospital was also nominated in the leadership and engagement category. Julie has previously won awards for her outstanding contribution to her work and recently hit the headlines after leaping into action during her holiday when a patient suffered a heart-attack on a flight to Sri Lanka.

The BHF Alliance awards is an annual ceremony that celebrates the inspirational work of healthcare professionals from across the UK. They are judged in two separate stages by a panel of cardiology and healthcare experts who rate nominations on several categories, including how teams and individuals have gone above and beyond the basic requirements of their role.

Joanne Bennis, Chief Nurse, said: “I’m very proud that two of our cardiac services were nominated for a BHF award. It’s a fantastic achievement for both nominees. I would like to congratulate Iona and her team for winning the award, their hard work and dedication to cardiac services has been recognised. By integrating the services we can provide combined mind and body care to patients.”

Simon Gillespie, chief executive of the British Heart Foundation, said: “I’d like to congratulate everyone in the team for their well-deserved win. Their sustained hard work and dedication ensures that patients in the area receive the best possible care.

“Everyone in the BHF is rightly proud of the staff across the UK who provide patients living with cardiovascular disease the best possible care, and I’m delighted the BHF

Alliance Awards thank and recognise the people who work in or support those services.”