UK award for GI collaboration with ED

NHS Grampian’s effective work for patients with eating disorders, which integrated teams in the Gastrointestinal (GI) department, the Eden Eating Disorders (ED) Unit and the outpatient eating disorder services, has scooped 2nd prize in the UK SAGE Awards. Congratulations to everyone involved!

The accolade is for the “Integrated Education Resource for the medical management of severe life-threatening anorexia nervosa” and has been made by SAGE (Shire Awards for Gastrointestinal Excellence) which are designed to allow individual healthcare professionals, units and healthcare networks in gastrointestinal care to be recognised for innovative work, share best practice and raise standards of patient care.

Dr Alastair McKinlay, Consultant Gastroenterologist, attended the awards ceremony in London last month, with Dr Jane Morris Consultant Psychiatrist, Dr Lesley Pillans, and Pauline Milne from the Eden Unit, and Marie McKimmie from the outpatient eating disorder service.

Alastair said: “It is a great honour to have national recognition for the collaboration between the Department of Digestive Diseases, Ward 104 ARI and the Eating Disorder Services. The link between the GI services in ARI and the Outpatient, Daycase and inpatient facility in the Eden Unit is one of the most comprehensive in the UK. It has given us a wonderful opportunity to develop truly collaborative working, and we now want to share that experience with other units. The SAGE Award will allow us to develop a project to build a series of educational training resources on Anorexia Nervosa for Scotland and the UK.

“We were one of three projects shortlisted by SHIRE, all of which were of a very high standard, so we are delighted with achieving second place. Above all it recognises the work that the nurses, dietitians, occupational therapists, clinical psychologists and doctors have done over many years to build a truly integrated service in Grampian. It’s the fantastic staff that we have working in ARI and Cornhill that have made this possible, and they are the real winners.”

[L-R] Dr Lesley Pillans, Marie McKimmie, Dr Jane Morris, Dr Alastair McKinlay and Pauline Milne.