A team of staff from the Local Health Boards in the three counties were recently awarded for their involvement in an innovative leadership challenge.

Held in Cwmbran, the challenge was the first of its kind in Wales and was organised by Nursing Times and the National Leadership and Innovation Agency for Healthcare.

Senior nurses and junior manages from NHS Trusts and LHBs, as well as representatives from other organisations such as local authorities, were invited to act as senior managers in the health community and challenged to find resolutions to difficult real-life scenarios.

These ranged from a fire breaking out in a local nursing home to accusations of abuse against patients.

The local team members were Donna Pritchard, head of nursing for NHS long-term care, Pembrokeshire and Ceredigion; Jean Pool, review officer, Pembrokeshire; Jane Topham, continuing care co-ordinator, Pembrokeshire; Christine McLachlan, care home co-ordinator, Ceredigion; Penny Lamb, acting NHS funded healthcare manager, Carmarthenshire, and Stephen Seagull, nurse assessor, Carmarthenshire.

Donna Pritchard, who was presented the award by the Health Minister Edwina Hart, on behalf of the team said: "It was a really difficult and stressful day, but really worthwhile. It has certainly given us many issues to reflect over and I think we have all come away with a greater appreciation of the difficult decisions that have to be made by senior management in the NHS."