Personal Achievement

Title: Dr Sally Mathew

Description: Dr Sally Mathew obtained her MBBS degree from Trivandrum Medical College in 1977. She came to the UK in 1978 and trained in medicine. Whilst working at Colindale Hospital she decided to set up a dedicated service for patients with Parkinson’s disease. She had the vision of a service which provided integrated multidisciplinary care from a single point of access. The clinic was started once a month in September 1997. The service grew from strength to strength and in 2005 a dedicated Parkinson Disease Unit was set up in Edgware Community Hospital, treating patient 5 days a week. The service is nationally recognized as a centre of excellence and is one of the largest Parkinson disease services in the country treating over 1000 patients. It has helped to increase patient independence, reduce hospital admissions and delay institutional care. Many patients who were wheelchair bound and dependent on carers for their day-to-day needs are enjoying an independent life through interventions provided by the unit.

The service has received both local and national acclaim and is listed on the Department of Health and Parkinson’s UK best practice database. Her work was featured in the BMA news as an innovative practice example under the hidden heroes of the NHS (2006). She was the runner up for the NHS Champions award organized by NHS London and Kings Fund (2008) and was also nominated for the Women of the year award for her contributions to this innovative service. The service has won many awards including the “Leadership for Improvement” award from the NHS institute for innovation and improvement (2009) and Best Practice and Innovation award from the Community Hospitals Association (2013). Dr Mathew was awarded an MBE on 15th June 2013 and is thankful to God for making all of these things possible.

The link given below is from Central London Community Healthcare NHS trust gives more information on the dedication and hard work by Dr. Sally Mathew