Three senior colleagues from CHFT are the backbone of Society for Acute Medicine (SAM) - past, present and future.

The current SAM president is MAU's Dr Nick Scriven.  His successor (and current President-elect) is Dr Sue Crossland who takes over from him in 2019, and will become its first female President, and Laura Jennings is the new representative on SAM for Allied Healthcare Professionals. 

Nick said: "This is a real feather in the cap for the Calderdale Acute Medicine Unit team and reflects the long-term ethos and running of the unit in that it is recognised as clinically sound with a team spirit conducive to getting the best out of all the team and encouraging their individual professional development. To now havethree  people on the SAM council from the same team is a first in all respects."

Sue Crossland has been a consultant for six years and moved from Bradford Royal to Calderdale a year and a half ago.

She said: "I am a strong advocate for the Specialty of Acute Medicine and proud that I will be the first President who has come through our dedicated training programme, as well as becoming the first female president in our twentieth year as a Society.

"I would reiterate what Nick said.  This Trust hospital has an outstanding reputation for acute medicine, built up by Nick over many years and it is why I chose to work here.  It’s not just about us from SAM. Our whole Calderdale Acute Medicine team deserves a mention, as we really do have a brilliant team."

Laura was the first Clinical Lead Physiotherapist (Band 7) employed for Calderdale 13 years ago specifically for A & E and AMU. She have also recently become Physiotherapy Professional Lead for the Trust and clinically leads the a team of 18 therapists covering the medical wards, A & E, CDU, AMU and CCU. This team consists of Occupational Therapists, Physiotherapists, Assistant Practitioner Therapists, Assistants and an Apprentice Therapist.

She said: " I am extremely proud to have been elected as the AHP representative for SAM council, and will endeavour to do my best to promote Acute Therapists and also more AHPs to join the Society of Acute Medicine. As acute therapists are so fundamental to the patient pathway and holistic assessment, I endeavour to hopefully include more topics that are AHP-led at conference.

"It is a real honour to be elected and I thank Dr Scriven and Dr Crossland again for their support and nominations. My team are very proud!"