Eight inspirational leaders and two ground breaking organisations have been named as the best in their field at this year’s prestigious NHS Leadership Recognition Awards.

Three doctors, two nurses and a health trainer are among the individuals who have been honoured for their work.

Organised by the NHS Leadership Academy, the national awards recognise and celebrate outstanding leadership practice in health, and shine a spotlight on those who have made a significant impact in improving the quality of care for patients.

The awards span every level of the healthcare system and have nine categories including ‘NHS Leader of the Year’, ‘NHS Innovator of the Year’ and ‘NHS Mentor of the Year’.

Secretary of State for Health, Jeremy Hunt, opened the awards ceremony and NHS Medical Director, Professor Sir Bruce Keogh, hosted the event at St Bartholomew’s Hospital (Barts) in London this week.

This year’s winners are as follows:

• NHS Leader of the Year (joint winners) – Professor Opinder Sahota, a consultant in elderly medicine at Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust and Dr Richard Martin, Head of Substance Misuse at NHS Derby City PCT and Derby City Council
• NHS Mentor of the Year – Michael Woodhouse, at Addenbrookes NHS Trust Hospital – Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
• NHS Community Leader of the Year – Natalie Belt, Health Trainer Service Manager at Humber NHS Foundation Trust
• NHS Quality Champion of the Year – Brigid Stacey, at Derby Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
• NHS Newcomer of the Year – Dr Darren Kilroy, Clinical Director for acute and emergency services at Stockport NHS Foundation Trust
• NHS Innovator of the Year – Philip O’Connell, Information Technology Professional at NHS Stoke-on-Trent Clinical Commissioning Group
• NHS Partnership of the Year – Integrated Care Pilot, NHS North West London
• NHS Board of the Year – York Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust

For further details of each winner, visit the NHS Leadership Recognition Awards website.

The winners were all nominated by their peers and were put through a rigorous three stage judging process. The judging panel was chaired by NHS Medical Director Professor Sir Bruce Keogh and included distinguished leaders across healthcare including Katherine Murphy, Chief Executive at the Patients Association and General Secretary of the Royal College of Nursing, Dr Peter Carter OBE.

The theme of the awards was ‘Making History’ in recognition of Barts place in history as the oldest hospital in the country with a museum, and the NHS Leadership Academy’s ground breaking work as a centre of excellence in leadership practice.

The NHS Leadership Recognition Awards are the only national NHS run awards in the country recognising leadership.

Jan Sobieraj, Managing Director at the NHS Leadership Academy, says: “The NHS Leadership Recognition Awards show us by example how the very best leaders and leadership practice makes change happen. Each of the winners has, in one way or another, created an environment where the people around them feel empowered to develop and flourish. This in turn improves the quality of care for patients. I congratulate each and every one of them for the inspirational work they do.”

Secretary of State for Health, Jeremy Hunt, says: “I was honoured to open the NHS Leadership Recognition Awards. These inspiring stories are fantastic examples of people with a passion for the highest standards of care. This is the kind of leadership the NHS deserves, and the kind of standards that every NHS patient should experience.”

NHS Medical Director, Professor Sir Bruce Keogh, says: Outstanding leadership is vital to the NHS and can impact greatly on staff morale and patient outcomes. The NHS Leadership Recognition Awards are a wonderful way to showcase individuals and organisations that are leading by example with high quality leadership. The awards are an opportunity to recognise them, celebrate their achievements and share their good practice nationally.”