Congratulations are pouring in for Oxford Health colleagues praised as leaders in their field by the Royal College of Psychiatry (RC Psych).

The accolades, heralded as the Oscars of the psychiatry profession, were awarded at RC Psych’s annual awards event in London last night. The Royal College of Psychiatrists is the professional medical body responsible for supporting psychiatrists throughout their careers and setting and raising standards of psychiatry in the United Kingdom.

Stuart Bell, Oxford Health’s chief executive, said “Congratulations to all the winners – we’re all incredibly proud of their achievement.

To receive three awards from the Royal College of Psychiatry is outstanding. These awards recognise that these are people working at the forefront of their profession, tailoring services to the changing needs of our communities and nurturing the next generation of psychiatrists to provide care for local people.”

The Oxford Health winners:

Older Adult Community Mental Health Team South Oxfordshire

Psychiatric Team of the Year: Older-age adults: Older Adult Community Mental Health Team South Oxfordshire, Oxford Health Foundation Trust.

Team manager Lysbeth Weeks said: “The team are delighted to receive the award.”

“Without exception, the staff in the team are dedicated, skilled and hardworking. They recognise the value of each other’s abilities, working together in an atmosphere that is respectful and transparent for the good of the patients in their care.”

Oxfordshire’s emergency department psychiatry service.

Psychiatric Team of the Year: Outstanding Commitment to Sustainable Service Development: The emergency department psychiatry service in Oxfordshire for its Technology Assisted Psychiatry (TAP) project.

Medical Student of the Year Maxime Taquet

Medical Student of the Year: Maxime Taquet, based at the Whiteleaf Centre in Aylesbury and from the University of Oxford.

Maxime said: “I am delighted to have received this award. From my perspective, it seems psychiatry is taking an interesting turn by taking up advances in genetics, neurosciences and digital technologies. Oxford Health plays a key role in this and it will ultimately improve the prognosis for patients. Psychiatry is one of the most exciting fields of medicine to enter and it is thrilling to be part of this movement as a budding psychiatrist.”

Also shortlisted was Dr Belinda Lennox, who leads the Early Intervention in Psychosis Service in Oxford, and who narrowly missed out on the title of R N Jajoo Memorial Academic Researcher of the Year.

Technology-assisted psychiatry

The trust’s emergency department psychiatry service in Oxfordshire offers support to people who arrive at A&E departments in Oxford and Banbury.

Technology Assisted Psychiatry (TAP) enables speedier consultation and support for patients thanks to video conferencing between the A&E and psychiatrists.

Dr Kezia Lange, consultant psychiatrist with the emergency department psychiatry service and TAP project lead, said: “We’re delighted. Thanks to the team and colleagues at the Horton Hospital in Banbury for taking on this idea, putting it into practice and making it part of care now. There’s such an opportunity to use technology like TAP which is going to revolutionise care for patients by improving access to care for patients.”

The TAP project is just one of the ways Oxford Health is spearheading the use of technology in in care as a NHS Global Digital Exemplar.