A team of inspirational medical professionals based at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham (QEHB) has won a top national award for their work with wounded military personnel.

This year’s Barclays Women of the Year Award has been given to six dedicated medical professionals who have worked tirelessly treating injured military personnel and civilians in hospitals in the UK and in the field.

The award, bestowed at the Women of the Year Lunch at London’s InterContinental Hotel on Monday 17 October 2011, includes recognition for four members of medical staff at QEHB, which houses the Royal Centre for Defence Medicine (RCDM) where injured military personnel are treated.

They are consultant nurse Debby Edwards, trauma sister Victoria Mulleady, specialist nurse Sergeant Lauren Odell, and clinical specialist occupational therapist Sarah Winters.

The other members of the team who share the award are clinical specialist physiotherapist Kate Sherman, based at the Defence Medical Rehabilitation Centre in Headley Court, Surrey, and Surgeon Commander Sarah Stapley, who is with Portsmouth NHS Trust.

Captain Martin Hewitt and Private Jaco Van Gass, of the Parachute Regiment, and members of the North Pole Walking with the Wounded team introduced the women.

The Barclays Women of the Year Award salutes a team of outstanding, compassionate and committed women – the "Sister Act" – whose hard work, determination and outstanding medical achievements have saved the lives of critically injured soldiers and given them a future.

The awards event was hosted by comedienne Sandi Toksvig, with other winners introduced by Bianca Jagger, human rights advocate; Anne Aslett, Executive Director of the Elton John AIDS Foundation; Pam Warren, survivor of the 1999 Paddington Rail Crash and Lorraine Kelly, presenter of ITV1's "Lorraine".

Baroness Helena Kennedy QC, President of the Women of the Year, said: “These six brilliant, professional and talented women represent the many more personnel who carry out such fantastic work at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham and with our forces overseas. This year marks the tenth anniversary of the war in Afghanistan and Women of the Year sought to recognise the hard work, determination and outstanding medical achievements of women working in this most challenging of fields.”

Sgt Odell commented: “Winning the Barclays Women of the Year award is a great honour and we are so touched to be recognised for the day-to-day job that we love. Our aim is to provide the best care possible for the military and civilian patients whom we treat, and to be nominated for this award means so much, as it was truly unexpected.”

She said she had spent the last four years at the RCDM in Birmingham, providing acute nursing care to injured soldiers. Her next role will see her working as a flight nurse providing nursing support on military patients’ journey back to the UK.

Sarah Winters said: "It is a privilege to be recognised for this award. I am only a small part of a very dedicated rehabilitation team and we all take great pride in the work that we do."

Deanna Oppenheimer, vice-chair of Barclays Retail and Business Banking, presented the awards to the winners.

She said: “Barclays is a proud sponsor of this award which recognises exceptional professional achievements by women. We aim to promote the value of gender diversity in the workplace, and ensuring public recognition for outstanding personal and professional achievements of women helps us do that. So this award, and its very deserving recipients, precisely reflect the values and achievements we strive to recognise among the women in our own organisation.”

At the lunch, four other special awards were presented to exceptional women who have each proved an inspiration to others through their courage, dedication, talent and achievements.