FHT commends complementary therapists for work with NHS
Two winners at the Federation of Holistic Therapists’ 2018 Excellence Awards were chosen for the success of their complementary therapy work alongside the NHS.
Complementary Therapist of the Year Jane Sheehan was awarded for developing a new delivery model for a complementary therapy service within an NHS palliative care unit.
Meanwhile Tutor of the Year Gwyn Featonby’s work developing an NHS Certificate in Complementary Therapies and the first NHS-approved therapy training school saw her recognised on the night.
Other winners included Nefeli Tsiouti, Sports Therapist of the Year; Alison Brown, Local Support Group Coordinator of the Year; and Brian Jauncey, Student of the Year.
The awards were held at The King’s Fund in London on November 29 as part of the FHT’s annual conference, which brought together experts in the field of complementary medicine to discuss challenges and opportunities for integrating complementary therapies into mainstream healthcare.
Topics included acupuncture, antenatal reflexology, social prescribing and personal health budgets, with each speaker focusing on how various therapies can be used alongside conventional medical care.
FHT president Chris Byrne commented: “…I personally came away inspired to think of new ways we can all work together to ensure even more people get access to the best of both conventional and complementary care, which in turn will help to relieve some of the burden currently being placed on our healthcare system.
“It was also a real pleasure to see our 2018 FHT Excellence Award winners receive some much-deserved recognition as part of the event programme, particularly as they too are doing work that is helping to support the integrated health agenda. Congratulations, and keep up the excellent work. What you do really makes a difference.”