NHS Excellence Awards

The NHS Excellence Awards 2026 are now open for entries until 5pm on Friday 6 March 2026.

The awards recognise, celebrate and share innovative work that is driving improvements across health and care.

We are working in partnership with the NHS Confederation on the awards who are hosting the entry form. Submit your entry now.

What are the NHS Excellence Awards?

The awards are run by, and for, the NHS – shining a light on local projects and teams who are making a real difference to patients and communities, delivering on the ambitions of the 10 Year Health Plan and inspiring others to adopt innovative approaches in their local area.

This is your chance to share the best of the NHS with the rest of the NHS.

There’s lots of great work happening across the country every day – and we want to showcase this. That’s why the awards are completely free to enter and tickets for the awards ceremony will also be free for all finalists.

Who can enter?

The awards are open to:

  • NHS integrated care boards (ICBs)
  • NHS trusts
  • primary care providers
  • local authorities
  • voluntary, community and social enterprise organisations, and other providers working in partnership with the NHS to deliver local health and care services in England
  • national organisations, provided their entry focuses on work delivered in a local area, or in the case of the Leadership award, an individual working at a local level

What are the categories?

There are 10 categories that highlight innovation transforming health and care. The same team or project cannot be entered in more than 1 category. Find out more about each category.
The categories are:

  1. Delivering value award
  2. Digital innovation award
  3. Improving health outcomes award
  4. Leadership award
  5. Neighbourhood health award
  6. Patient involvement and choice award
  7. Quality improvement award
  8. Sustainable healthcare award
  9. Valuing our people award
  10. Working in partnership award

When will finalists and winners be announced?

Seven regional panels will select a regional champion for each category, to be announced mid-April 2026. Regional champions will then be invited to an awards ceremony on the evening of Wednesday 10 June at NHS ConfedExpo in Manchester, where the national winners will be announced.

How can I support the awards?

If you are an NHS communications professional, you can download the communications toolkit from the Futures collaboration platform. Support the awards online and on social media using the hashtag #NHSExcellenceAwards.

Find out more