Renal Specialist named ‘Peoples Choice’ at Scottish Health Awards

Kidney specialist Dr Mun Woo, Inverclyde Royal Hospital’s renal unit, was acknowledged for her crucial work during the coronavirus outbreak when announced as winner of the new ‘People’s Choice’ of the 2020 virtual Scottish Health Awards. The award category was sponsored by Scottish PPE manufacturer Alpha Solway, part of the Globus Group which has over a 25-year history of producing PPE equipment for healthcare and industry.

Dr Woo was selected from a strong shortlist of seven finalists, who were all praised for the care extended to patients in face of extreme demands brought by the pandemic.

Dr Woo’s renal unit was the first in Scotland to suffer an outbreak of COVID-19, which left the facility at dangerously low staffing-levels and high-risk patients extremely vulnerable. Dr Woo rapidly set up vital infection control measures and also concerned for her patients’ mental wellbeing, she encouraged re-introduction of the hospital’s creative arts programme to combat low morale.

Dr Woo said: “I am totally overwhelmed and privileged to be voted as winner of the Alpha Solway People’s Choice Award. Like everybody nominated for this prestigious award, my team and I have made personal sacrifices during the pandemic. This has involved keyworkers showing tremendous selflessness, dedication and wholehearted commitment to looking after patients in the NHS, residents in care homes, feeding the nation or manufacturing essential PPE - the list goes on.

Globus Group Operations Director Sherree Gracie continued: “It has been an honour for us at Alpha Solway to be able to show our support and appreciation for the incredible ingenuity and dedication with which Scotland’s NHS professionals have responded to COVID-19. Dr Woo is a worthy winner and the work that she and her team have done for dialysis patients at Inverclyde has been inspiring. All the finalists have demonstrated truly outstanding commitment to caring for their communities at this difficult time.”

 Alpha Solway, is expanding production and creating two new world class facilities at Dumfries, South West Scotland and Warrington in North West England, to fulfil major contracts with the Department for Health and Social Care and NHS Scotland. It is running a recruitment drive with plans for 600 new staff - including many who have lost jobs across a variety of business sectors during the pandemic -  to make high-performance FFP3 face masks currently in high demand.