Dr Sophie Fletcher has been awarded a prestigious National Clinical Impact Award.
The honour recognises her dedicated work to improve understanding and treatment of fibrotic lung disease.
Dr Fletcher is a Consultant Respiratory Physician at University Hospital Southampton (UHS).
She is Honorary Associate Professor of Respiratory Medicine at the University of Southampton. Her research is part of the NIHR Biomedical Research Centre’s respiratory and allergy theme.
She has thanked the UHS Research Leaders Programme (RLP) for giving her the skills she needed to achieve this award.
Highly competitive
The National Clinical Impact Award (NCIA) scheme is run by the Advisory Committee on Clinical Impact Awards (ACCIA) for the Department of Health and Social Care in England.
The scheme recognises consultants, dentists or academic GPs who have delivered national impact above the expectations of their job role or other paid work over the previous five years. The selection process is very competitive.
It specifically recognises the dissemination and implementation of that work and its impact on the wider NHS and public health.
Treatment options
Fibrotic lung diseases are a group of rare diseases. Patients with these conditions experience shortness of breath that gets worse over time, to the point that they may need oxygen.
The most common of these conditions is idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). People diagnosed with this condition only have a life expectancy of 3-5 years from diagnosis.
“If we’re not part of research for these patients, they have limited options,” Dr Fletcher explains. “That’s been the principal reason why I’ve been doing research all these years – to provide patients with an option who otherwise wouldn’t have one.”
National recognition
The ACCIA have said the award is a public acknowledgement of Dr Fletcher’s sustained commitment and dedication to the NHS.
The award recognises the national impact of her efforts, over and above her contractual requirements. These include her academic research and leadership.
Dr Fletcher is part of the RLP programme. This supports healthcare professionals employed by UHS to take the next step in their research career and develop their leadership skills.
It covers salary costs for at least one day a week (20% whole time equivalent) for up to three years. It provides the protected time they need to take their research to the next level.
The awards are open to all healthcare professionals substantively employed by UHS. It is managed by the Southampton Academy of Research (SoAR).
“I would like to thank the UHS Research Leaders Programme for facilitating this achievement,” she said. “The award was judged on contributions to leadership, research, clinical delivery, and education, and the RLP allowed time for these activities to flourish.”
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