Optegra Eye Health Care is delighted to announce that Seraphim Patel (Data Protection Manager) has been awarded the 2020 ‘Information Governance Professional of the Year’ award.
Presented by the ‘National Health and Social Care Strategic Information Governance Network’, this prize recognises the increasingly important role that Information Governance plays in all our lives. And is the first time ever to be awarded to a private healthcare company.
Information Governance practitioners often work as lone voices in their organisations and this year’s award seems particularly relevant and important with increasing publicity around large companies being fined for breaches in data protection.
The win was announced at an online event last night with hundreds of people from around the UK. Seraphim had been nominated for the Professional of the Year category which included social health and healthcare combined and was competing against large NHS organisations.
The news of the win is announced on the NHS Digital DSP news accessed by thousands of organisations nationally and internationally: Www.dsptoolkit.nhs.uk.
Seraphim says: “I am passionate about the protection of patient and staff data and this National SIGN award means a lot to me personally.
“I have spent the past 2.5 years improving data protection of patients and staff, and this year beyond any other, data protection has achieved the prominence it deserves. Covid has resulted in many associated challenges both technical and emotional and we have worked non-stop on governance to ensure personal information will not be left floating in the ether; including essential tools to prevent hacking and training for all members of staff. This best practice is helping us emerge from Covid in an even stronger position.
“At Optegra, I work with a fabulous team who support me in the pursuit of best practice and who are, in turn, led by a magnificently supportive leadership team.”
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Dr Ola Spencer, Group Head of IT/IM and Data Protection Officer at Optegra, said:
“Together, we work to improve the data protection of every one of our patients and team members. I am so pleased that this award will help to reinforce the idea that data protection is an integral part of patient care and will become increasingly so as the years progress.
“Seraphim was nominated and awarded in recognition of his enthusiasm and passion, his knowledge and expertise. Indeed at the awards he was described as being ‘larger than life and a one-man crusade who has changed the way of working’.
“Seraphim and his team have, with great enthusiasm, introduced best practice which has spread to every part of Optegra’s eye hospitals as we acknowledge the importance of managing all personal and sensitive data with the upmost of care.
“We all congratulate Seraphim and his team and will continue to support them in order to improve the data protection of all our patients and staff.”
Optegra Eye Health Care is a specialist provider of ophthalmic services in the UK. It operates 21 eye hospitals and clinics, bringing together leading edge research, medical expertise and state-of-the-art surgical equipment. Its top ophthalmic surgeons are renowned for their areas of expertise, offering excellent clinical outcomes.
Seraphim Patel – Data Protection Manager, Optegra
