Thank You Event 2025: Leader of the Year – Highly Commended

Every year we celebrate our amazing staff and their achievements at our Thank You ceremony. Board members will surprise colleagues at their bases and present them with a hamper, balloons and a certificate for being shining examples of our magnificent staff behaviours.

The NHS benefits greatly from delivering research directly, not only in terms of breakthrough’s enabling earlier diagnosis, more effective treatments and improved system design, all of which improve patient care and health outcomes, but also increased workforce satisfaction and retention and patient and carer experience. Mortality is lower in research active hospitals. The NHS also benefits financially from delivering research.

In her nomination, Carolyn Nelson, Head of Medicines Management wrote how Jill Halstead-Rastrick, Clinical Lead for Podiatry and Clinical Lead for Research has been in her part-time research role for just over two years, and in that time, through her leadership has transformed the LCH approach to research by re-shaping the team, providing new research opportunities for a range of staff roles, securing additional external funding which totalled over £200,000 in 2024/25. She re-invigorated the delivery of the LCH Research Strategy, building from the bottom up, and regularly reporting progress to the Quality Committee and Trust Board. Additionally, she worked to identify Service Research Champions to enable a culture of innovation and discovery across the Trust.

Jill supported colleagues to present posters at National conferences, sharing work undertaken in LCH. The poster presented at the Physiotherapy Research Society Annual conference was awarded the best poster presentation. Along with Podiatry Service colleagues, she recruited the most participants across the UK to a study looking at treatments of exercise and orthotics for plantar heel pain (TREADON). She has collaborated with universities and the third sector (Older People’s Forum) on application for four grants to undertake self-management research and led the opening of 14 research studies in nine services, which recruited 300 participants during 2024/25. Jill facilitates the research pipeline across all three clinical business units, connecting staff and services to research partners which will enable patients to benefit from access to interventions, has developed commercial studies, which generates income for the Trust and will make a positive contribution to the Quality and Value Programme. Jill co-hosted a Community Rehabilitation Research Workshop with the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), showcasing the growth of community-based research across the country.

In March 2025, Jill was awarded a Senior Clinical and Practitioner Award by the National Institute for Health and Care Research. This award will allow Jill to work over the next five years with researchers in Leeds, London and Australia exploring community solutions for foot osteoarthritis pain. The award is highly competitive, and Jill scored in the top 5% of applications – a huge achievement and testament to her vision to drive her own development with research activities and being an inspiring leader for others.

Carolyn added, “Jill is a knowledgeable, inspiring and compassionate leader, going above and beyond to support the team and their research aspirations. Without her at the helm, the LCH research activity would not in the healthy position it is, with staff excited about the possibility of exploring new treatments and interventions, redesigning pathways and services and developing their roles and careers under her leadership.”

Jill was presented her award by Lynsey Ure, Executive Director of Nursing and Allied Health Professionals.