We are delighted to announce that our trustees have chosen Dr Janine Winterbottom as the recipient of our most prestigious honour: The Lord Hastings Award.
Dr Winterbottom is an Advanced Nurse Specialist in Epilepsy. She has worked at the The Walton Centre NHS Foundation Trust in Liverpool since 1995.
A particular area of interest for Dr Winterbottom has been preconception counselling for women who have epilepsy and their care during pregnancy. One of her innovative approaches to this subject has been to help produce a video aimed at women who have epilepsy and which is sharable on social media. This encourages and helps young women who have epilepsy to make informed decisions around conception and pregnancy management.
Her work has also focused on the experience of young people and their transition from paediatric to adult epilepsy services. This is often a worrying and stressful time and Dr Winterbottom’s work has helped many teenagers make a smooth and successful move into adult epilepsy services.
We established The Lord Hastings Award in 1990 to recognise individuals who have made an outstanding personal contribution to improving the lives of people with epilepsy. It was named after our first President, the Lord Hastings, who was also the award’s first recipient. Only 12 people have received the Lord Hastings Award in its 28 year history.
Our chief executive Philip Lee said:
“I am delighted that the dedication and care that Janine has shown over many years is being recognised by The Lord Hastings Award. The quality of her work and the positive impact this has had on the lives of so many people makes her a most deserving recipient.”