Rebuilding Lives Awards 2019 winners

The Spinal Injuries Association Rebuilding Lives Awards recognise the outstanding achievements of individuals and groups in the spinal cord injured (SCI) community, who inspire others through their work or hobbies or during their rehabilitation.

Our seventh awards ceremony took place on Thursday 11 July 2019 at the ROKiT Williams Racing Conference Centre in Oxfordshire.  This year we were delighted to welcome our Patron, HRH The Princess Royal who joined us for part of the day and kindly presented the Stephen Bradshaw Award for Rebuilding Lives.

We received over 130 nominations to this year’s awards and nominees came from across the SCI community.   Winners for each category are listed below:

Torch Challenge Trophy

SIA is enormously grateful for the support it receives from all of our corporate supporters.

Our Torch Trophy is awarded to CFG Law.

CFG Law were chosen as winners of the 2019 Torch Trophy Award for their outstanding commitment and dedication to supporting SIA.  As well as being Platinum members and sponsoring our Peer Support Officer in the North East, Andy Wharton, their staff have also engaged with fundraising events throughout the year, including a Pizza Party and Quiz during SCI awareness week, whilst also raising over £2,000 by joining us on our overseas cycling challenge.

SIA Volunteer of the Year Award

The Volunteer of the Year Award is presented to a volunteer who has been instrumental in supporting the work of SIA over the last year. Sponsored by Teleflex.

The winner of the Volunteer of the Year Award is… Will Pike!

Before Will’s injury, he worked for a commercial productions company with aspirations of becoming a film director. Will is now a PSO Volunteer for SIA, and supports SIA and other organisations with his extensive knowledge and experience of SCI.

SIA Fundraiser of the Year Award

The Fundraiser of the Year Award is presented to those who make voluntary contributions of money and/or other resources towards the services that are vital to SIA in the last year….

The winner of Fundraiser of the Year Award is… Ben Tansley!

Ben was spinal cord injured in 2017 and in 2018 completed the Berlin Marathon for SIA raising over £15,100 for SIA and incredible awareness of the charity.

Healthcare Professional of the Year Award

The Peter O’Sullevan Healthcare Professional of the Year Award is presented to an experienced outstanding healthcare professional who has gone above and beyond the usual expectations of their job role and has made a significant difference to the SCI community.

The winner of the Peter O’Sullevan Healthcare Professional of the Year Award is… Sreedhar Kolli!

Sreedhar has pushed hard for improvements in SCI care in Wales, with NHS Wales announcing £30.8 million additional funding to be put into the long-awaited move of the centre out of Rookwood Hospital into more modern facilities in Cardiff #RebuildingLives2019

Rising Star Medal  

The Rising Star Medal is presented to a young health professional from each of the SCI centres across the country and has made a significant difference to SCI people, despite having only been in the role a short time.

The winners of the Rising Star Medal 2019 are:

Dean Marsden (Princess Royal Spinal Injuries Centre), Debbie Williams (The Yorkshire Regional Spinal Centre), Hannah Richards (Midland Centre for Spinal Injuries), Lowri Davies (Welsh Spinal Cord Injury Rehabilitation Centre) and Lucy Robinson (National Spinal Injuries Centre)

Outstanding Team Award

The Outstanding Team Award is presented to a team that has made a significant difference to the care, treatment or lives of SCI people in NHS Spinal Cord Injuries Centres, District General Hospitals or Rehab Centres. Sponsored by Irwin Mitchell.

The winner of the Outstanding Team Award is… Spinal Injuries Clinical Psychology Service at Midlands Centre for Spinal Injuries!

This team work tirelessly to support newly injured people across a huge range of hospitals in the south east and beyond!

Inspirational Carer Award

The Inspirational Carer Award is presented to an outstanding paid or unpaid carer working in the community or care home setting who has made a significant difference to SCI people and the SCI community.

The winner of the Inspirational Carer Award is… Mary Helley!

Mary has been a carer for her husband Steve for over 45 years after meeting at Stoke Mandeville when Steve was newly injured and Mary was a nurse! 

Arts, Sports and Recreation Achievement Award

The Arts, Sports and Recreation Achievement Award is presented to an individual or team who has provided inspirational contributions through outstanding sporting, arts or recreational achievements, whether during rehabilitation, hobby or profession. Sponsored by SIA Healthcare.

The winner of the Arts, Sports and Recreation Achievement Award is… Sophie Carrigill!

Sophie was injured in 2010 and has gone on to play wheelchair basketball, representing Yorkshire, Great Britain in the Paralympics in 2016, and World Championships.

Members’ Choice Award

The Member’s Choice Award is presented to a SCI person who has shown courage, commitment and determination as they rehabilitated and rebuilt their lives after injury. This award was voted for by SIA members’.  Sponsored by SIA Case Management.

The winner of the Members’ Choice Award is… Lauren Doherty!

Lauren has spoken to more than 1,500 local children and young adults, received recognition from her local MP and was awarded a Bravery Award from her local radio station.

Young Person of the Year Award

The Young Person of the Year Award is presented to a young SCI person who has provided an outstanding level of contribution to the SCI community, and their peers. Sponsored by Birchall Blackburn.

The winner of the Young Person of the Year Award is…. Maisie Graham!

Following the onset of Transverse Myelitis before her fifteenth birthday, Maisie now supports other children and young people to develop their own skills, confidence and independence in using their wheelchair.

Paul Smith Award for Lifetime Achievement Award

The penultimate award of the day is the Paul Smith Award for Life-Time Achievement Award, in honour of SIA’s Chief Executive Officer Paul Smith, who dedicated his life to improving the lives of other SCI people and campaigned at the highest level to enact positive change.

The winner of the Paul Smith Award for Lifetime Achievement Award is… Jackie Bailey!

Jackie has worked tirelessly, for the SCI community for many years, both with SIA and at the spinal unit in Stoke Mandeville. Thank you Jackie for everything you have done for the SCI community.

 Stephen Bradshaw Award for Rebuilding Lives

The Stephen Bradshaw Award for Rebuilding Lives is the final award of the day and is given in honour of SIA’s first Executive Director Stephen Bradshaw who held the post for over 20 years. He worked tirelessly on behalf of SCI people and the wider disability community to bring about many of the legislative changes that exist on the statute books today.  In so doing, he also helped break down many of the barriers that for so long hindered his vision of a more inclusive society.

This award was chosen by Claire Williams, SIA Vice-President and was presented by HRH The Princess Royal.

The winner of the Stephen Bradshaw Award for Rebuilding Lives is…. Sreedhar Kolli!

Sreedhar is an outstanding individual and has achieved so much in his career. We wanted to recognise the scale of change now possible in the Welsh NHS thanks to Sree’s drive and determination in lobbying the Welsh Government for additional funding and patient safety alerts. The additional funding will make modern facilities, specialist staff and a new outreach service part of the improved service available to Welsh SCI patients – helping to rebuild many lives now and in the future. Congratulations to Sree! #RebuildingLives2019

Thank you to our Patron, HRH The Princess Royal, to all our supporters, Slater & Gordon who generously sponsored the event, our category sponsors, our host Chessie King and a huge congratulations to everyone who was nominated. You are all stars! #RebuildingLives2019

For more information about the Rebuilding Lives Awards 2019 email Sophie Davis