NEWS | Midlands health and care heroes honoured in NHS Parliament Awards

The NHS in the Midlands has today revealed the ten individuals and teams it has chosen as regional champions for the prestigious NHS Parliamentary Awards.

MPs and NHS leaders in the Midlands joined forces to honour health and care staff who have helped to improve treatment for patients.

The coronavirus pandemic, the greatest public health challenge in the NHS history has prompted a record number of nominations from MPs across the country, who have sought to shine a light on the dedication of health and care staff and volunteers who have contributed to the unprecedented response.

Those recognised in the 10 categories, which range from Excellence in Primary Care to the Lifetime Achievement Award, include GPs, mental health teams, NHS volunteers, respiratory physiotherapists and critical care.

The judges, drawn from across the NHS have today selected the 10 regional winners who have been selected from over 147 nominations, one in each of the 10 categories.

Dr Nigel Sturrock, Regional Medical Director at NHS England and NHS Improvement in the Midlands, said: “I was impressed by the high standard of all entries from the Midlands this year. Choosing between the dozens of teams and individuals who all go above and beyond, to go forward and represent our region, has been incredibly difficult. I wish our champions the best of luck in the national heats and will be rooting for them on the day.”

The ten regional champions selected by an expert NHS panel are:

• The Excellence in Mental Health Care Award (supported by Lloyds Banking Group): All Age Mental Health Access Team, Crisis Care Centre, Harplands Hospital, North Staffordshire Combined Healthcare NHS Trust nominated by Jo Gideon MP and Jonathan Gullis MP
• The Excellence in Health Care Award: Children’s Community Respiratory Physiotherapy Team, Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust nominated by Lee Anderson MP, Nadia Whittome MP, Alex Norris MP and Ben Bradley MP.
• The Excellence in Urgent and Emergency Care Award: Medical Assistant Team, Royal Stoke University Hospital, University Hospitals of North Midlands NHS Trust nominated by Jack Brereton MP and Jo Gideon MP.
• The Excellence in Primary Care Award (supported by Assura plc): Dr Israr Khan, Dr Shahid Merali, Karen Walker, Sue Robinson, Kanta Gangar, Haroon Rashid, Yvonne Graves, Kerry Bradley, Darlaston Family Practice, Walsall, nominated by Rt Hon Valerie Vaz MP.
• The Future NHS Award: West Heath Surgery, Birmingham nominated by Gary Sambrook MP.
• The NHS Rising Star Award (supported by Fujifilm UK): Lottie O’Byrne, The Robert Jones and Agnes Hunt Orthopaedic Hospital nominated by Rt Hon Owen Paterson MP.
• The Care and Compassion Award (supported by LV=): Critical Care Family Liaison team, University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust nominated by Jess Phillips MP.
• The Health Equalities Award: Diabetes Strategic Patient Partners; Mr Jit Pundal and Mr Tony Kelly nominated by Steve McCabe MP.
• The Wellbeing at Work Award: Elaine Weaver, West Midlands Ambulance Service University NHS Foundation Trust nominated by Rt Hon Jesse Norman MP.  
• The Lifetime Achievement Award: Joe Sim, University Hospitals of Derby and Burton NHS Foundation Trust nominated by Amanda Solloway MP.

These regional champions will now go head to head with other winners from across the country to be judged by a national panel made up of senior leaders representing staff and patients, for the chance to win the prestigious national award which will be presented at a special ceremony in the House of Commons on 7 July 2021.

England’s Chief Midwife and chair of the national judging panel this year, Professor Jaqueline Dunkley Bent, said: “A huge congratulations to all those who have been recognised for their outstanding contribution to the NHS as well as making a genuine difference to the patients they care for.

“NHS staff and volunteers make the health service what it is today – the largest and greatest care team in the world.

“This year more than ever, the nation owes a debt of gratitude to the 1.3 million-strong army of nurses, midwives, doctors, physios, pharmacists, healthcare and maternity care assistants porters, cleaners, and countless other staff who ensured no patient who could benefit from NHS care was unable to receive it. 

“It will be a tough task selecting our overall winners – I look forward to hearing more about their fantastic achievements and celebrating with them all at the national award ceremony.”

The full list of regional winners can be found here: https://www.nhsparliamentaryawards.co.uk/shortlist

Allan Elborn, General Manager of Medical Systems at Fujifilm UK: “We are astounded by the quality of the NHS Rising Star regional shortlist, a new category for this year’s awards which recognises the achievements of NHS staff members and volunteers under 30 who give up their time to improve services in their area.

“From everyone at Fujifilm, we extend our warmest congratulations to all of the regional winners, who together showcase the incredible level of care, compassion and innovation our NHS delivers every single day, and never more profoundly than in this past year. More so than ever, we are incredibly proud to sponsor the NHS Parliamentary Awards for the second year running and to be involved in celebrating these inspiring individuals and teams.”

Jonathan Murphy, Assura CEO, and sponsor of the Excellence in Primary Care Award, said: “In a year like no other for primary care, it’s inspiring to see these nominations ranging from individual GP practice teams to primary care alliances, CCGs and community pharmacy – all stories of innovation and commitment to the experiences patients have, and their access to health services.” 

Steve Treloar, Chief Executive Officer at LV= General Insurance and sponsor of the Care and Compassion Award says: “We’re extremely proud to be sponsoring the Care and Compassion category at this year’s NHS Parliamentary awards and would like to say a massive congratulations to all the winners of the regional awards. The NHS has always worked incredibly hard to look after and protect the millions of us who need their help each and every year, and through COVID-19 they continue to make a monumental effort to keep us safe and save lives. We will forever be grateful for all the amazing and hard work they do every single day and we’re delighted to be able to recognise and thank them through these awards.” 

Fiona Cannon, Business Director at Lloyds Banking Group’s Sustainable and sponsor of the Excellence in Mental Health Care Award said: “I want to congratulate all of those who have been shortlisted for the ‘Excellence in Mental Health Care’ category of the NHS Parliamentary Awards. This pandemic has had a huge impact on every aspect of our lives has taken a toll on both our mental and physical health. The work you do is crucial to the recovery of individuals, communities and the country as a whole and on behalf of Lloyds Banking Group, I would like to thank all of you for the contribution you make to people’s lives and well-being.”

All of the champions will now be invited to the national awards ceremony. The overall winners will be announced in July at special ceremony in the House of Commons.