Head of Design and Clinical Photographer win national awards

Two members of staff from Oxford Medical Illustration (OMI) – the in-house team which provides services including clinical photography, videography, printing, and graphic design at Oxford University Hospitals (OUH) – have been recognised at a national awards ceremony.

Jackie Love, OMI's Head of Design, won a Gold Award and two special awards at the Institute of Medical Illustrators (IMI) Awards in Glasgow on Saturday 8 October for the Beyond Words book of images from the COVID-19 pandemic at OUH.

Caroline Green, a Clinical Photographer in the OMI team, won two Bronze Awards for her photos of a Consultant Radiologist and a Therapeutic Radiographer at work.

This is well deserved recognition for both Jackie and Caroline from their peers – the Institute of Medical Illustrators (IMI) represents clinical photographers, healthcare designers, graphic and medical artists, and clinical video producers, both in the UK and internationally

Beyond Words was designed in-house by Jackie Love and made possible through funding and logistics support by Oxford Hospitals Charity. The book forms part of OUH's Growing Stronger Together – Rest, Reflect, Recover programme to support staff wellbeing.

In the Graphics, Animation, 2D and 3D section of the IMI Awards, Jackie won not only the Gold Award but also the Gabriel Donald Graphics Award, which is given to the best art/graphics entry that shows innovation and extra creativity in its approach that lifts it above the rest of the entries.

In addition, Jackie received a special award for Beyond Words due to the excellence of the book and its unique place in the history of the NHS, highlighting the effects of COVID-19.

Jane Fallows, Lead Judge for the Graphics, Animation, 2D and 3D section of the IMI Awards, said: "I have been involved in the Awards for many years now and Beyond Words justly deserves special praise."

Professor Bruno Holthof, former Chief Executive Officer of Oxford University Hospitals who commissioned the Beyond Words book, added: "I am delighted that Jackie’s design expertise has been recognised by these prestigious awards. My vision was to create a book of images which would show our OneTeamOneOUH response to the COVID-19 pandemic and Jackie was able to deliver this vision, working closely with colleagues from our Communications and OMI teams and with staff from across OUH who submitted their photographs for inclusion in the book."

Sarah Vaccari, Head of Communications at Oxford Hospitals Charity which funded the Beyond Words project, said: "Beyond Words is a tribute to the dedication of our NHS teams who worked through such complex times during the pandemic. I had the privilege of liaising closely with Jackie on this powerful book, so saw first-hand the creative and thoughtful manner in which she wove together these incredible images and stories. It is wonderful that Jackie’s design talent, commitment to the NHS, and sheer hard work has been rightly recognised with this very special award."

• OMI provides services to not only staff in-house at Oxford University Hospitals but also external clients – the team can be contacted via email at medical.illustration@ouh.nhs.uk