AN expert in speech therapy has won an award for his innovative work.
Dr Graham Williamson, head of speech and language therapy for Sedgefield Primary Care Trust (PCT) has been jointly awarded the 2003 Sternberg Award for Clinical Innovation.
The award was presented by The Countess of Wessex at a ceremony in Northwick Park Hospital, Harrow.
It was given to Dr Williamson for his work at Darlington Memorial Hospital in improving the evaluation of voice difficulties in children and adults.
During the ceremony, the Countess met patients who had benefited from the work of Dr Williamson and Claire Wells, joint recipient of the award.
Dr Williamson wrote a software programme to guide clinicians through a systematic evaluation of voice difficulties.
The programme suggests diagnoses and has reduced the time needed to analyse data and write reports.
The project has proved particularly useful for working with students, helping to structure their analytical skills and allowing comparison of their decisions with those proposed by the software.
Nigel Porter, chief executive of the Sedgefield trust, said: "The PCT is delighted that Graham has received this prestigious accolade and would like to congratulate him. Graham has won this award for his outstanding work, dedication and contribution made to the speech and language therapy services.
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