A consultant in acute medicine at Pilgrim Hospital, Boston, has paid tribute to the commitment of his colleagues, while collecting a national award for his work.
Dr Akin Falayajo, has been crowned Emergency and Critical Healthcare Professional at the National BAME Health and Care Awards 2021.
Dr Falayajo has spent the last nine years working at United Lincolnshire Hospitals NHS Trust (ULHT). Most recently he has been based at Pilgrim Hospital, Boston, working with teams to provide patients with the treatment they need closer to home, rather than spending many weeks in hospital. He is also passionate about supporting junior doctors from all backgrounds through their training. With record numbers signing up to his education programmes.
Receiving the award, Dr Falayajo, said: “I have worked in the NHS for over 16 years. What has inspired me the most is the commitment of colleagues to find a way through challenging situations and the resolve to provide high quality patient-centred services despite the odds. The Coronavirus pandemic exemplifies this well.
“My passion for educating the future doctors that will work within our health service is borne out of my lived experience and those of friends and colleagues from ethnic minority backgrounds.
“I recognise the opportunities for improving this for them and us. This is why this award means a lot to me. It shines a light on the work that I and colleagues do in supporting BAME doctors that are new to the NHS and inspire us to do more.”
Cheryl Cole, Editor of DiversityQ, working in partnership with the BAME Health and Care Awards, said: “Healthcare professionals put their lives on the frontline daily, give their all, and in many cases for little reward and recognition.
“This year has brought home the tremendous pressures they work under and highlighted how COVID-19 has disproportionately impacted BAME staff.
“They deserve far more than a weekly doorstep applauds, and hopefully, The National BAME Health and Care Awards are the first steps in ensuring BAME staff, in particular, are appropriately acknowledged.”
ULHT Deputy Chief Executive and Executive Sponsor of the Trust’s BAME staff network, Mark Brassington, said: “Congratulations to Dr Falayajo, we are so proud that all of his hard work and the support he provides to colleagues and patients has been recognised with this national award.”