Milestone reached as Penumbra wins health award

Penumbra Milestone wins innovation award

An Edinburgh service for people with Alcohol Related Brain Damage (ARBD) has been recognised for its innovative approach at this year’s Scottish Health Awards, held in the capital this week.

Penumbra Milestone – a partnership between mental health charity Penumbra, NHS Lothian and City of Edinburgh Council – won the Innovation Award from a highly competitive shortlist.

The award recognises an innovator, researcher or a team whose work has led to significant improvements in the quality of healthcare and the health of the nation through new ways of working, faster access to services or new treatments, technologies or research.

Speaking after winning the award, Penumbra Milestone Manager Lesley Forbes said: “Penumbra Milestone has only been open for about a year, so we are delighted that we have been awarded the most innovative service in Scotland. This is an amazing achievement for everyone who has been involved in developing the service.

“There was really tough competition in the Innovation category from the William Quarrier Scottish Epilepsy Service and NHS Greater Glasgow & Clyde’s Macmillan Pharmacy Service and Stroke Clinic, so to win the award is fantastic.

“By working as a partnership between the third sector, NHS and the City Council, we have developed a new way of offering services which has helped people suffering with alcohol related brain damage to leave hospital and return to living in the community.”

Penumbra Milestone (above) is an alcohol-free 10-bed step-down unit which provides short-term care for vulnerable men and women, aged 18+, who have a diagnosis of ARBD. Jointly run by the third sector, NHS and Edinburgh Council, the specialist centre provides care for people who no longer require hospital treatment, but who are not yet ready to go directly home.

The Scottish Health Awards is the most prestigious and recognised awards ceremony for healthcare professionals within Scotland, run in partnership with NHS Scotland and the Scottish Government. Hosted by comedian Fred MacAulay, this year’s awards ceremony took place on Wednesday The Corn Exchange.