Healthcare and medical research category winners

Commercial fishing is one of the most dangerous occupations in the world, with UK fatality rates 100 times higher than the general workforce

People experiencing homelessness face numerous barriers to accessing dental care. Research suggests that 90% of homeless people have had problems with their teeth, 30% are currently experiencing dental pain and one in six have tried to extract their own teeth. Some have used superglue to fill cavities.

Data shows that children with learning disabilities are 28 times more likely to have a serious sight problem and the more profound a child’s learning disability, the more that risk increases. Left untreated this can lead to sight loss and it is estimated that 50% of sight loss in individuals with special needs could have been prevented with treatment. SeeAbility set out to demonstrate to NHS England that providing specialist eye care within special schools would benefit children with special needs and ensure they were able to access their right to eye care on the NHS.

In 2016 primary bone cancer fell into the remit of the government-funded 100,000 Genomes project, providing an amazing opportunity to uncover the genetics associated with these tumours. Therefore BCRT began preparatory work for a new model of tissue sample collection, which involved equipping existing surgical centres around the country to collect samples, rather than the conventional model of building a single physical biobank. In early 2018 the National Biospecimen Collection Project was fully rolled out to all bone cancer surgical centres. Almost 300 patients have been identified. Of these, 256 were deemed appropriate to be approached for consent, and samples have been gathered from 231 of them. A total of 1,167 samples are now actively supporting 14 current research projects including the genomes one.

The Scottish Professional Football League Trust – the charity of Scotland’s 42 professional football clubs – works to promote, support, fund and administer activities which help meet identified social needs for people in Scotland. The charity launched Football Fans in Training (FFIT) – a 12-week programme intended to improve fans’ health and wellbeing while providing them with a behind-the-scenes look at their local club.

Prospect Hospice and Swindon Clinical Commissioning Group were faced with the simple fact that too many people were dying in hospital in their area – people who did not wish or need to. These people were enduring unnecessary discomfort, hindering hospital staff, and wasting resources. The charity and the CCG identified a need to help care home staff learn more about how to provide palliative care to the terminally ill.

Combat Stress provides specialist clinical treatment and support to ex-servicemen and women with mental health conditions. The PTSD Intensive Treatment Programme is a six-week residential programme to help people with post-traumatic stress disorder alongside other mental health problems. One in five armed forces veterans suffer from mental illness – 4 to 6 per cent of them with PTSD – and often find it difficult to engage with civilian programmes.

The Foundation for Womens’ Health Research and Development (Forward) has worked on the issue of female genital mutilation (FGM) since 1983. There are around 137,000 women living with FGM in the UK and 60,000 girls are considered to be at risk. Despite this, a 2013 NSPCC poll of 1,000 teachers revealed that 83 per cent of teachers had never received safeguarding training on the topic, and only 16 per cent knew it was illegal.