COVENTRY & WARWICKSHIRE LEARNING DISABILITY FRIENDLY BADGE RECOGNISED WITH TWO RCGP AWARDS
30 July 2024
Two local GPs have won two Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP) awards for their work on the Coventry and Warwickshire Learning Disability Friendly Badge, which recognises practices that are welcoming places for people with a learning disability and who provide excellent personalised care..jpg)
Dr Maisun Elftise and Dr Ayesha Mahmud won the Martin Wilkinson Award at the RCGP Midland Faculty Awards and the Highly Commended Best Collaborative Award at the national RGCP Inspire Awards 2024.
The Martin Wilkinson Award recognises those “who, through innovation, turn a problem into an opportunity to rethink how we do things ultimately with the aim of improved quality of patient care” and the Best Collaborative Award “recognises an individual, group or Faculty who has achieved great things by working together, crossing boundaries, making new relationships and partnerships or breaking down barriers and silos.”
The Learning Disability Friendly Badge was introduced by NHS Coventry and Warwickshire Integrated Care Board (ICB) in order to act as a quality standard for GP practices across Coventry and Warwickshire – with the first practices being awarded a badge in June.
Not only does the accreditation recognise a practice’s commitment to providing an excellent standard of care for people with a learning disability, but it is also dependent on them delivering high-quality Learning Disability Annual Health Checks that are vital in the early identification of health issues.
The winning of these awards is a testament to the work that Maisun and Ayesha have done in developing the badge and improving how those with a learning disability are able to access GP services.
GP practices who wish to be awarded with the Learning Disability Friendly Badge can apply using an application form which can be found on the Happy Healthy Lives website along with the eligibility criteria.
Dr Maisun Elftise and Dr Ayesha Mahmud, said:
“We are absolutely delighted that our work on the Learning Disability Friendly Badge has been recognised with these two awards by the RCGP. We’d like to thank everyone involved in creating and implementing the badge for their hard work and support throughout this process, especially the ICB Learning Disability Team, Quality Team and the local Charity Grapevine.
“In particular, we’d like to recognise the role that our experts by experience played in developing the badge. It is vital that those with experience of living with conditions and accessing treatment are involved in how we develop and deliver services.
“We hope this is just the beginning of the work on the Learning Disability Friendly Badge and we’re excited about how it can be expanded to other health and care services in the future to improve the health and wellbeing of people with a learning disability.”