Young people’s disability advocate among dozens honoured in care sector

By The Press Association31st December 2015News EnglandAwards, News England

Young people’s disability campaigner Lucy Watts said it was “a lovely surprise” to receive an MBE and hopes it will shine a spotlight on the issue.

The 22-year-old from Benfleet in Essex is in a wheelchair because of her own chronic and life-limiting condition, and said she decided to dedicate her life to helping others due to a fear that she would die without having made a difference.

Ms Watts has Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, leading to faulty collagen causing fragile skin and unstable joints, and while the genetic condition is not life-limiting for all, the complex form that she has has made all her internal organs fail.

She advocates for young people with disabilities and life-limiting conditions, working with five charities including Together For Short Lives, and her tireless efforts have seen her speak in parliament and appear on the radio and TV.

Asked how she felt to be recognised for services to young people with disabilities, she said it was “a bit of shock, a lovely shock, a lovely surprise – but it was a shock at the same time”.

She told the Press Association: “Just to think that people think I’m worthy of something like that and that my work has been recognised, because I’m not very good at being proud of what I’m done, so this has forced me to think ‘actually you have done a good job, and now you’re an MBE recipient so you have to actually be proud of what you’ve done’.

“I work with five core charities and advocate for young people with life-limiting conditions and disabilities in healthcare, but especially in things like the transition period between children’s and adults’ services because that’s a big minefield and there’s not enough support with that.

“Children’s and young adults palliative care – especially the young adult side because there is such a lack of young adult specific support, because we’re not children, and we’re not adults, and we need tailored support but there isn’t that service in many places.

“If I want to go as an inpatient to a hospice I have to go three and a half hours from where I live just to get to a young adult hospice.

“It’s about health, about difficult conversations about end of life care because it’s not a topic that young people want to talk about, or parents want to talk about, but when you’ve got a life-limiting diagnosis you have to.”

Ms Watts said the battle towards better 24/7 care is also an issue close to her heart because, “you can guarantee that I will get ill on a evening or a weekend, especially if it’s a bank holiday, and there’s not the support there, so the only place is hospital”.

Asked how she came to be so involved with charity work, she said: “When I was doing my end of life plan, I said to my hospice nurse and to my mum I was scared that I would die and nothing would be different because of me, and that my life wouldn’t have meant anything, and saying that and releasing that spurred me on to do something.”

Ms Watts said her campaigning takes up most of her time, although she also enjoys devoting attention to training her assistance dog, cocker spaniel Molly.

She is an ambassador for Together For Short Lives and the wish-granting charity Dreams Come True, and is the International Children’s Palliative Care Network’s first youth ambassador.

She has also been involved with the Pseudo Obstruction Research Trust, The J’s Hospice in Chelmsford where she has been a patient, has worked with the National Council for Palliative Care and the Council for Disabled Children, and regularly attends the Children and Young People’s Health Outcomes Forums.

She added: “It’s been wonderful and it makes me feel like I’ve contributed to society, which is really important to me.”

Other notable recipients working across health and social care include:

CBE

Sandra Jane, Mrs KEENE
Director of Adult Social Services and President, Leeds City Council and ADASS. For services to Social Care.
Professor Julia Teresa SELWYN
Professor and Director, The Hadley Centre for Adoption and Foster Care Studies, Bristol University. For services to Adoption and Children’s Social Care.
Neil JAMESON
Executive Director, Citizens UK. For services to Community Organising and Social Justice.
David Christopher LANE
Lately Vice – President, Professional Association for Childcare and Early Years. For services to Childcare and Social Work.
Professor Karen Anne LUKE
Lately Dean, School of Nursing, Midwifery and Social Work, University of Manchester. For services to Nursing and Midwifery.
Dr Geraldine Mary STRATHDEE, OBE
National Clinical Director for Mental Health, NHS England. For services to Mental Health.
Paul FARMER
Chief Executive, Mind. For services to Mental Health.

OBE

William Bruce MCLERNON
For services to Social Care and Local Government particularly in Carmarthenshire.
Mr Maurice John DEVINE
Assistant Head, Health and Social Care Clinical Education Centre. For services to the Nursing Profession and the Field of Learning Disabilities.
Dr Adrienne COOPER
Strategic Director, Adult Social Services, Housing, and Health – Sutton Borough Council. For services to Adult Social Services.
Professor Alison Jean PETCH
Lately Director, Institute for Research and Innovation in Social Sciences. For services to Social Services in Scotland.
Susan Patricia, Mrs PETTIGREW
Director, St Michael’s Fellowship, London. For services to Children and Families.
Daljit, Mrs LALLY
Deputy Chief Executive, Northumberland County Council and Joint Executive Director, Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust. For services to Integrated Care.
Ms Angela WHITE
Chief Executive, Sefton Council for Voluntary Service. For services to Community Action.
William Sloan BELL
Head of Child Protection, Save the Children UK. For Humanitarian services to Children.
Carolyn, Mrs KIRBY
President, Mental Health Review Tribunal for Wales and Chairman, Cancer Information and Support Services, South West Wales. For services to Justice and Cancer Care.

MBE

Hilary, Mrs DOBBIE
Lately Principal, Moor House School and College, Oxted, Surrey. For services to Children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities.
Helen Macpherson Young, Mrs WILCOX
Vice – Chair, Skills for Care and Network Chair (West Midlands). For services to Social Care.
Jacqueline Anne, Mrs BARNETT
Foster Carer, Hertfordshire County Council. For services to Children and Families.
Beverley, Mrs BARCLAY
Director of Clinical Services, The J’s Hospice, Essex. For services to Nursing, particularly Young Adults with Life-Limiting Conditions.
Clifford Alan BENNETT
Foster Carer, Wolverhampton City Council. For services to Children and Families.
Janet, Mrs BURNS
Chair, National Dignity Council. For services for the Promotion of Dignity in Care for All.
Ms Jane Lee BURT
For voluntary service to Carers and Criminal Justice.
Jo-Ann Clare, Mrs CAHILL
Keeping In Touch Strategy Manager, Swansea. For services to Young People in Swansea.
John Joseph CALLAGHAN
Lately Employee Director, NHS Ayrshire and Arran. For services to Partnership Working in Healthcare.
Kathleen Philomena, Mrs GILBERT
Foster Carer, Peterborough City Council. For services to Children and Families.
Philip John GILBERT
Foster Carer, Peterborough City Council. For services to Children and Families.
Frederick John HANSON
Foster Carer, Herefordshire Council. For services to Children and Families.
Ms Marie HANSON
For services to Young People and to Survivors of Abused women in Wandsworth.
Violet Shirley, Mrs HANSON
Foster Carer, Herefordshire Council. For services to Children and Families.
Susan, Mrs JOHNSON, JP
Chair, Macmillan Cancer Support Hyndburn Fundraising Committee and Area Chair, East Lancashire Committees. For services to Supporting Patients with Cancer.
Steven PLEASANT
Chief Executive, Tameside Metropolitan Borough Council. For services to the Welfare and Housing of Asylum Seekers and Refugees.
Kathleen, Mrs SHAYLER
Foster Carer, Wolverhampton Council Fostering Service. For services to Children and Families.
Roy SHAYLER
Foster Carer, Wolverhampton Council Fostering Service. For services to Children and Families.
Alexander James STEWART
Councillor, Perth and Kinross Council. For voluntary service in Perth and Kinross.
Donald Edward GRAHAM
Vocational Programme Manager, Foxes Academy, Minehead. For services to Vocational Training for Young Adults with Learning Disabilities.
Cyd, Mrs MCCARTHY-AKRILL
Regional Director, Hull and Yorkshire, Barchester Healthcare. For services to People with Learning Disabilities and Complex Needs in Hull and Yorkshire.
Rosanna Mary, Mrs NOAD
Officer, Paladin Team, Border Force, Home Office. For services to Child Protection.
Dr Nisreen Hanna BOOYA
Lately Medical Director, South West Yorkshire Partnership NHS Foundation Trust. For services to Healthcare particularly Mental Health.
Ms Paula PHILLIPS
Nurse Consultant, Child and Adolescent Forensic Mental Health Services, South West Yorkshire Partnership NHS Foundation Trust. For services to Mental Health Nursing.
David William PROUT
Perinatal Community Mental Health Nurse, Southern Health NHS Foundation Trust. For services to Community Mental Health Nursing.

Knight Bachelor

John CAMERON
Head of Helplines, Child Protection Operations, NSPCC Helpline. For services to Child Protection.

Medal of the Order of the British Empire (BEM)

Councillor Roger Keith Trillo BRIGHT
For voluntary service to the community in Knighton and District Powys.
Henrietta Fraser, Mrs BROWN
For voluntary service in Ross-shire particularly through The Queen Mother’s Clothing Guild.
Miss Lisa Wendy TOWERS
Senior Executive Officer, Home Office and Co-Founder, Break the Stigma. For services to Mental Health Awareness.

For the full list of honours, visit: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/new-years-honours-list-2016