Double awards shortlisting for rising NHS star

An NHS staff member from Lincolnshire who works in IT has been shortlisted in two national awards for her technological knowledge and innovative ideas.

Laura Forster, Senior Data Warehouse Developer for Lincolnshire Partnership NHS Foundation Trust (LPFT) has been shortlisted in the Women in IT Excellence Awards 2019 in the ‘Rising Star of the Year’ category, and the Unsung Hero Awards 2020 in the ‘IT and Digital’ category. 

In September 2017, Laura joined LPFT as a data analyst. In just over two years she has earned a great degree of respect and recognition across the organisation and progressed into her current role.

The nomination for Laura was submitted by the Head of Informatics at LPFT, Carolyn Holmes. She said:

“Laura has really shown her abilities and progressed very quickly during her time at LPFT. I nominated her for these awards because she has shown skill, tenacity and creativity throughout all of her work. She is an asset to our Trust and really deserves to be recognised.”

Laura said:

“Helping clinicians save time, or increase quality of care for patients through the use of technology gives me great job satisfaction. Being shortlisted is something I am incredibly proud of, and being able to work in IT for the NHS is something which makes me even prouder.

It’s really important that more girls are encouraged to take STEM subjects at school as women are underrepresented in technical professions. I know from experience, looking back at the career advice I got when I was 16, this wasn’t something that was on my radar or that I was encouraged to do until I started working in the NHS almost 7 years ago.

In my role I ensure all information collected by our staff has a purpose. We use this data to create reports to aid service improvements. I also look after the development of one of our clinical systems to support staff to manage who they care for and record the treatment they offered. These functions, although they don’t involve direct patient care, are incredibly important as they help monitor that the people we look after are receiving the high quality care that we expect, and help shape how our services are delivered in the future.”