Mayor of Hereford Paul Stevens was delighted to present an award to the Wye Valley NHS Trust Dermatology team, recognising the hard work and dedication that they’ve shown throughout the pandemic. Several weeks ago the team was awarded the BMJ Awards ‘Dermatology Team of the Year’, a significant national accolade.

The Wye Valley Skin Centre brings together staff and services delivering skin cancer care which have previously been delivered at a number of Trust premises. The new centre, based in the Gaol Street clinic buildings, consolidates dermatology, and specifically skin cancer related care services, onto one site – with the team hoping to develop “see and treat” services for serious skin cancers and rashes, linked with their nationally leading Teledermatology service set up during the pandemic.

Samantha James, Inflammatory Clinical Nurse Specialist, who received the award, said “We all know how hard Covid-19 has been for everyone, and for us this award has come at the perfect time. Working through the pandemic has naturally made the team feel exhausted, and it has been hard, but this has really lifted our spirits. Dermatology is not the most glamorous field to work in, but we’ve been dedicated to providing an excellent service no matter the situation the country is in.”

Doctor James Powell, the Dermatology Clinical Lead for the team, was also present at Town Hall, with Samantha commenting “Everything we’ve done wouldn’t have been possible without James. He’s an excellent leader and has driven us to work harder and safer. With the new Centre, everyone has that boost to work together and make our services even better.”

Mayor Paul Stevens spoke to the team and congratulated them on their incredible success, commenting how fantastic it was to see a national award given to our Hereford staff. The services they provide are vital for those facing dermatology issues, particularly skin cancers, and their persistent and committed work through the pandemic is a testament to the power of teamwork and dedication.

We thank each and every one of the team members for their role in not just achieving this award, but for the day-to-day work they do which makes such a difference to their patients.

You can watch a video regarding the prestigious BMJ Award given to the Wye Valley NHS Trust Dermatology team here.