Staff recognised in Queen’s Birthday Honours
Four members of staff at our Trust have each been awarded an honour in the Queen’s Birthday Honours list.
Dr Ashok Roy, Consultant Psychiatrist, will receive an OBE, Alex Cotton, Senior Practitioner for Street Triage Team, and Carol Peckham, General Manager for Integrated Community Services (ICS), will be receiving MBE’s, and Marie Tait, a Health Care Assistant with more than 40 years’ service to the NHS, will be receiving a British Empire Medal (BEM).
Consultant Psychiatrist Dr Ashok Roy is a senior NHS consultant, specialising in services for people with a learning disability and has more than 30 years public service behind him. Alongside Dr Roy’s clinical work, he has worked as the Trust’s Medical Director, Chair of the Intellectual Disability Faculty at the Royal College of Psychiatrists and more recently was appointed as Clinical Advisor to Health Education England. In this role he has worked to transform the whole learning disability workforce in partnership with educational and service organisations to ensure more effective service are delivered.
Dr Roy said: "I have been privileged to spend my working life trying to improve services for people with learning disabilities and their families and staff. I am delighted to receive this unexpected honour. I hope it goes some way in raising the profile of a section of society that still struggles to receive the right support to live fulfilling lives".
Alex Cotton, a qualified Mental Health Nurse and now a Senior Practitioner for Street Triage Team, has been awarded her MBE for services to mental health. Alex has been an influential driver and collaborator in two major initiatives within mental health services in Coventry and Warwickshire – the mental health awareness campaign ‘It Takes Balls to Talk’ and the Street Triage initiative.
Alex Cotton said of the recognition: “I am chuffed. It is an honour to have an honour. Through my triage work with the police I observed that many men who died by suicide, never accessed support from mental health services. This became the driving force behind ‘It Takes Balls to Talk’: to support men to talk and to support people to listen. Alongside our brilliantly fantastic volunteers we are working with sports clubs across Coventry and Warwickshire to reach men that other services haven’t reached. We hope ‘It Takes Balls to Talk’ will help to reduce the stigma of men talking about their feelings and that more people will know why, where and when to seek support. Thank you to everyone that has been on the journey so far.”
Carol Peckham, a registered Mental Health Nurse and now General Manager for ICS, has spent 35 years developing and managing integrated health and social care services to improve the lives of those often described as ‘hard to reach’. In addition Carol has given her own time to help less fortunate communities, focusing largely in deprived communities in The Gambia. She has been involved in multiple projects with PAGEANT (Projects Aiding Gambian Education And Natural Talent) at different locations across the country.
Carol Peckham said of being included in the honours list: “I feel very privileged, enriched and humbled to have been given the opportunities to make a difference to the lives of others, both personally and professionally. Compassion costs very little – as the saying goes ‘To the world you may be one person but to one person you may be the whole world.’ I now feel very honoured to receive this award but I also feel that I wouldn’t be where I am, and doing the things I do, without the faith and support of others around me.”
Marie Tait is an exceptional Healthcare Assistant (HCA) who champions patients at all levels and represents those who do not have a voice. She gives her time and expertise to improve patients’ health, welfare and experience with unparalleled enthusiasm. She is also an active union member and in her personal time provides support to those in need through both her charitable and volunteer work - always known for ‘going that extra mile’ entirely selflessly and with amazing energy whilst continuing to work beyond the usual retirement age.
Marie said: “I am really pleased to have been put forward for such an award, really pleased. It is lovely recognition for someone who is a frontline NHS worker. What a lovely surprise it has been!”
Jagtar Singh, Chair for Coventry and Warwickshire Partnership NHS Trust, said: “We are immensely proud of Ashok, Alex, Carol, and Marie and the contribution they have made to patients, carers and colleagues. They have all in their own way contributed to the development and innovation of our services, whilst also working to improve the health of the wider community. Ashok, Alex, Carol, and Marie embody the values of our Trust. Their passion for delivering high quality care to patients has shone through and we are so pleased this has been recognised in such a special way.”