Tricia Moate worked tirelessly as a nurse and as a patient advocate for sarcoma. Sadly, she died from sarcoma in December 2018. We dedicate this award to her memory.
Each year, Sarcoma UK offers allied health professionals (AHP) and nurses involved in the care of sarcoma patients, sponsorship to go to the British Sarcoma Group (BSG) annual conference.
It’s important to celebrate and support the work of the Allied Health Professionals and nurses working with sarcoma patients. Sarcoma UK is grateful to Tricia’s family for their ongoing support of this award.
Why is this award important?
- Attending the BSG conference is an excellent opportunity to learn more about sarcoma and the treatments that are currently available and on the horizon.
- It’s an opportunity for nurses and AHPs to share best practice, network, build supportive relationships and lay the foundations for collaborative work.
- It’s a way of supporting this unique workforce, personal development and celebrate the work of nurses and AHPs.
Why are we doing it?
- We understand how hard it can be to have study leave, let alone find funding or the time to attend.
- There are few sarcoma specific study days available and no specific nurse and AHP training modules available anymore.
- The spread of sarcoma units and specialist centres across the UK mean sarcoma nurses and AHPs rarely meet peers unless they attend a study day.
What does the award cover?
The winning application will receive:
- Sponsorship to have access to the BSG conference, including travel, accommodation, conference dinner and access to the full BSG programme.
- Support to attend a further study day that will support personal development and patient care.
- Support from the charity in writing an abstract, formatting and producing a poster for the BSG.
Who can apply?
- Individual nurses and AHPs who care for sarcoma patients can apply. Applicants do not need to be sarcoma clinical nurse specialists or a sarcoma specific AHP. We welcome and encourage applications from outside the specialism.
- Nursing and AHP teams from a sarcoma service can also apply. Some trusts have limited the number of study days staff can attend, so a team application would allow for a different member to attend each of the three opportunities.
The value of the award cannot be given in cash, and any costs cannot exceed a total of £1,350 per winning application. Economy travel and the equivalent of Premier Inn standard of accommodation ought to be booked where possible.
What we expect
Sarcoma UK asks that winners:
- Are happy to be contacted by Sarcoma UK’s communications team about winning, to appear in the charity’s marketing.
- Write and submit a poster application/abstract for the BSG. We will support winners with this.
How to apply
We ask applicants to explain in 500 words or less, how the Tricia Moate Award will contribute to their personal and professional development, and the impact this will have for sarcoma patients.
Applications will be judged by a small committee, comprising of nurses, allied health professionals and patients.
About Tricia Moate
Tricia trained as a nurse in the 1970s, including specialising in palliative care nursing. She was diagnosed with sarcoma in 2004. After extensive surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy, and not being able to return to work, she used her experience as a patient and her expertise as a nurse to advocate for the sarcoma community.
Tricia had an incredible ability to listen with empathy and compassion. Tricia would really listen to what people with sarcoma were saying and was able to voice those concerns to influence at the highest level, having sat as the patient representative for sarcoma advisory groups, NICE, the NIHR and spoken at the BSG on a number of occasions.
Tricia was also passionate about the need for more sarcoma research and was involved in reviewing many trials protocols at a UK and European level.
Among her many achievements, Tricia was instrumental in running the Sarcoma South sarcoma support group, which she ran for a time at both Southampton and Bournemouth, providing support for sarcoma patients and their families for 11 years.
Tricia had a quiet, kind approach but was tenacious and had a clear sense of purpose in the work she did. We hope that this award will help support nurses and allied health professionals involved in sarcoma care to improve their knowledge, network with peers within sarcoma services and ultimately put their learning into improving sarcoma patient care.
