An inspirational physiotherapist has scooped a prestigious gold award for excellence as part of a national list of dedicated healthcare professionals.
Ruth Mhlanga, professions lead for allied health professionals, was awarded the CAHPO Gold Award for Excellence 2024 by Professor Suzanne Rastrick OBE, chief allied health professions officer (CAHPO) for NHS England.
Delighted with the recognition, Ruth said: “I am extremely pleased to have won the inaugural CAHPO award and want to thank everyone who has played a part in my time at the trust.”
Commencing her career in 2002 as a physiotherapist at South Tees Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Ruth quickly climbed the professional ladder and now works in diverse roles across the trust.
Since January 2019, she has held the post of professions lead for acute services and head of physiotherapy with an 18-month secondment into the chief AHP role between 2021 and 2022.
During her 25-year career, Ruth has gone through a host of changes and has actively played a role in raising the profile of allied health professionals in the trust and the wider region.
Ruth’s job includes providing clinical and professional governance for the physiotherapists in the trust providing strategic and operational management of services and raising the profile of the physiotherapy and other allied health professions.
She added:
I also chair the North East and North Cumbria Allied Health Professions Council, which is a multi-agency forum that includes local authorities and higher education institutions working very closely with the ICB (Integrated Care Board) – to ensure we support and learn from each other to meet the needs of the populations that we serve.”
Professor Suzanne Rastrick OBE, chief allied health professions officer (CAHPO) for NHS England, added: “Congratulations to the inaugural winners of the award and thank you most sincerely for your contribution.
“For the first round of these awards, I have had the privilege of personally identifying individuals who have, often in their own time or unseen by others, strengthened significantly and supported the work that I or my wider team have undertaken during the last ten years.”
As Black History Month continues, Ruth is keen on being at the forefront of supporting fellow ethnic minority colleagues – individuals who are at the start of their careers as well as those who occupy senior posts like herself.
She added:
The theme for this year's Black History Month is Reclaiming Narratives. The beauty of this award is that I don't have to reclaim the narrative, because others are speaking excellence on my behalf.
“Therefore, I am grateful as the award makes the normally invisible work, visible and shines a light on the effort of all, who are always striving to do and being the best they can be every day.”
Ruth is also currently working with NHS England to support the development of the educator maturity matrix for systems. Once completed, the initiative will ensure that learners have a good placement experience and educators are enabled to support different types of learners, who may have diverse needs.