Galen, a privately owned pharmaceutical company, announced Simon Fell as the winner of the Dr John Hinds Scholarship Award for 2024, in association with the College of Paramedics and The ATACC Group.

Simon, a Clinical Service Improvement Lead for Acute Care, based in Northern Ireland’s Ambulance Service in Belfast, was presented with the award at the College of Paramedics National Conference in Hinckley this week.

The scholarship honours the memory of the late Dr. John Hinds, a revered leader in the field of pre-hospital care in Ireland. As a highly respected critical care physician from Northern Ireland, the scholarship serves as a meaningful tribute to his legacy and contributions to the medical community.

For Simon Fell, it seemed like fate had a hand in him entering his submission for the John Hinds Scholarship Award explaining: “I’ve been aware of the John Hinds Scholarship since its inception, but I didn’t ever seriously think about applying. This year, however, I seemed to see the advertisement everywhere I turned: online, on the website, in Paramedic Insight etc. In the end, I mentioned to a colleague about applying and they really encouraged it. I had also just been on shift where the idea for the case study came to me, so it all fell into place really.”

To qualify for the John Hinds Scholarship, entrants had to produce a clinical case study, that was experienced in person. Simon opted to submit a case study which was based on a call he attended with a student paramedic.

He explained: “The reflection explored the challenge of history-taking when receiving a patient from another paramedic, the risk of bias from both an experienced paramedic and from a student and how there is always an opportunity to learn. I guess no one thinks they will win and that all the other submissions will be better,” he revealed. “But I am very aware of the legacy that Dr John Hinds left behind, not only in Northern Ireland but across pre-hospital care, so to receive his scholarship to attend ATACC is a massive honour.”

Dr Dennise Broderick, Galen’s Managing Director and President said:

“Congratulations to Simon on his win and earning a space on the ATACC Course! His unwavering dedication to exceptional care and ongoing learning is truly inspiring. We are delighted that through our partnership with the College of Paramedics and ATACC, we at Galen can continue to benefit the health of all generations and help others provide extraordinary service that positively impacts patients’ lives”.