Sponsored by: Barclays

The Barclays Women of the Year Award salutes exceptional and selfless young women who have used their inventiveness and vision to help change the lives of many.

Debby Edwards
Debby Edwards is employed as a Consultant Nurse in Critical Care Outreach & Acute Pain at the new Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham, part of University Hospital Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust. The 42-year-old, who lives in Cofton Hackett, Birmingham, qualified as a Registered nurse in 1990. She began working for the UHB Trust in 1993 and was appointed as its first consultant nurse in 2001. Debby’s clinical background is in critical care, liver transplant and hepato-biliary surgery, and pain management which led to her MSc degree. Her role includes treating injured military personnel brought to the Royal Centre for Defence Medicine (RCDM) based at the QEHB.

Victoria Mulleady
Trauma sister Victoria Mulleady provides exceptional care to both civilian and military patients alike at Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham. Victoria joined the University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust, which runs the new QEHB, in September 2000 having qualified as a nurse from what is now Birmingham City University. She has worked within trauma for nearly all of the last 11 years, qualifying as a sister in 2005. She took over as acting senior sister on September 26. Victoria, aged 35, who lives in Northfield, Birmingham, is responsible for coordinating with the team on the ward on a daily basis to ensure patients get the specialist care they need. Her role includes liaising with the Ministry of Defence and Air Ambulance, as well as rehabilitation services ensuring that all possible help and care is provided.

Sergeant Lauren Odell
Lauren Odell joined the Royal Air Force in 2002 and after completing basic training at RAF Halton. She studied at the University of Portsmouth to qualify as a Registered Nurse (Adult Branch) obtaining a Diploma of Higher Education. Her first qualified post was at Ministry of Defence Hospital Unit (MDHU) Peterborough where she undertook a rotation programme, working within a number of nursing specialties. In this time she also completed a four month tour on Operation Herrick, based in Kandahar where she took on the role of Flight Nurse, transporting casualties within Afghanistan and repatriating them to the UK.

For the past four years, she has worked at the Royal Centre for Defence Medicine (RCDM) Birmingham, firstly at Selly Oak Hospital and then at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital as part of the UK’s Role 4 provision, providing care to wounded soldiers and civilians who have undergone complex and significant traumatic injuries. During her time at Birmingham, she has gained a BSc in Musculoskeletal Studies. In addition to her primary role, she has undertaken a number of Aero Medical Evacuations collecting injured servicemen and women from far flung places such as Canada, Brunei, The Ascension Islands and Scotland. She is imminently to take on a new role at Tactical Medical Wing based at RAF Lyneham,
Wiltshire.

Kate Sherman
Born in Southport, Lancashire, Kate has worked at the Defence Medical Rehabilitation Centre, Headley Court, since December 2002. She is 35.

In August 1999 she started her junior rotations at Southport District General Hospital before taking a senior post on the attached regional Spinal Cord Injury Unit 18 months later. Kate worked there for the next two years where she developed an interest in working with disabled sportsmen and women.

In December 2002 she moved down to Epsom, Surrey to work at DMRC Headley Court. Following one further promotion in 2005 she started to work in and develop the Complex Trauma service that was growing at a rapid pace. Since the Prosthetics service started in June 2006 she has worked closely with the prosthetics team to develop the clinical service offered to the military. This physiotherapy service has now grown from two people to a team of 17 physiotherapists who work within an ever-expanding interdisciplinary team. In the imminent future she hopes to complete her MSc in Rehabilitation Studies, based at the University of Strathclyde, Glasgow.

Her special interests include traumatic amputee rehabilitation, spinal cord injuries, aquatic therapy, and sport as part of rehabilitation. Kate has also been involved in the development of Exercise Snow Warrior (Adaptive), one of the sports led by the Battle Back team at Headley Court and work with Battle Back as they run many different activities to support and facilitate the rehabilitation of their injured military personnel.

Surgeon Commander Sarah Stapley
Surgeon Commander Stapley is 46 and joined the Royal Navy in 1987 as a Medical Cadet, qualifying from the University of Glasgow in 1989. After a period of Military Duties, which involved being a single handed medical officer at sea, she undertook higher specialist training in Trauma and Orthopaedics, which included a research-based higher degree in Resuscitation, accrediting as a consultant in January 2004. At this time she took up a consultant appointment with Portsmouth NHS Trust in conjunction with Ministry of Defence Hospital Unit (MDHU) Portsmouth. Since then she has deployed to the Middle East on five occasions, and has been awarded the Order of St John and Queen’s Commendation for Valuable Service for her work on Operations.

She is shortly to deploy again as Deployed Medical Director to Afghanistan. She is a firm believer in thorough and diverse medical education as the cornerstone for positive outcomes, whether in the civilian setting of her NHS Trust or on military operations, always maintaining that the patient is the most important factor in the delivery of care.

Her current additional roles include Consultant Advisor in Trauma and Orthopaedics to the Medical Director General (Royal Navy), Wessex Deanery Core Surgical Programme Director and Senior Lecturer to the Academic Department of Military Surgery and Trauma.

Sarah Winters
Sarah Winters is a clinical specialist occupational therapist who joined University Hospital Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust just under two years ago. The 38-year-old, who lives in Solihull, West Midlands, qualified as a therapist in 1995, having completed her university degree in Occupational Therapy. Sarah works solely with military patients at the Trust’s new Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham.

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