Alex Strivens-Joyce, Physician Associate at Montgomery Medical Practice, has been announced as the 2016 winner of the Steve Hugh award. The award is given annually by Shropdoc in memory of Dr Steve Hugh, who was medical director of the organisation in the early years of the service. Alex was presented with the award and £1000, £500 of which was donated to a charity of his choice.
Dr Donna Griffiths, who nominated Alex for the award, said “Alex joined our team in 2016 and was the first and only full time Physicians Associate in Wales. He has fitted into our surgery so easily and has transformed patient access through our practice. Not only has he taken over the acute care of many of our mental health patients, he also undertakes 70% of our home visits, provides teaching and training to staff and is currently studying for his masters degree. Alex is extremely popular with staff and patients; he’s a pleasure to work with.”
On winning the award, Alex said “I am extremely honoured to be this year’s recipient of the Steve Hugh award – it was quite a brilliant surprise! I have chosen to donate £500 to Combat Stress, a charity very close to my heart who do great work supporting serving and retired military personnel with mental health problems.”
Dr Russell Muirhead, Shropdoc Chairman, said “Alex is a very deserving winner of the Steve Hugh award. He has helped to contribute to the transformation of Montgomery Medical Practice and is providing patients with an enhanced service. We are particularly pleased to recognise a Physicians Associate as winner, as this role becomes increasingly important in the future of healthcare in the UK.”
The Steve Hugh Award is presented annually and is based on recommendations from within the Shropshire and Powys health community. Dr Muirhead said “As the Medical Director of Shropdoc, Steve showed great interest not only in the services provided by ourselves but also those of other health professionals. With his ethos of clinical excellence we thought it would be a fitting tribute to his memory to institute an award that is open to any health professional or organisation who can be nominated by a colleague as an example of someone providing or developing a service that goes beyond normal expectations to the benefit of patients.”
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