A St Albans mum has been named a “leading light” in developing a service to support families who have children with significant and complex health needs.

Renata Blower, a mum-of-three biological children and one foster child - all of whom have disabilities - has been recognised in the prestigious Hertfordshire Community NHS Trust awards.

The awards, which have been in place since 2012, are run by the trust and recognise the work of their staff and others outside the organisation who have contributed.

Renata was able to represent the voices and experiences of families with a disabled child through her work with Herts Parent Carer Involvement (HPCI), whose membership consists of over a thousand families in Hertfordshire who have a child with Special Educational Needs or a disability.

Renata said: “All the parent carers who give their time to help improve the lives of others deserve to be acknowledged for the incredible difference they make. It was a huge honour to be recognised in this way and to know that HCTNHS really values the experience and insight that parent carers can offer.”

She is hoping that the award will help raise awareness of the work that HPCI does in Hertfordshire to help improve services for disabled children and their families and to encourage other families to join. As well as making sure that there are parent carers represented when decisions are being made about services that disabled children use, HPCI also provide free webinars and training sessions to help support families.

Naomi Mason, from children and young people’s specialist services at Hertfordshire Community NHS Trust, said: “Without Renata the care coordinator service would not have been developed with the child and family at its core.”

HPCI is an independent parent carer led organisation which aims to improve services for children and young people aged 0-25 years who have special educational needs and/or disabilities.

Visit www.hertsparentcarers.org.uk to join or find out more.