The call has gone out for more entries for this year’s Kate Granger Compassionate Care Awards.

The Chief Nursing Officer for England, Professor Jane Cummings, urged people to nominate colleagues and teams, while also revealing the entry closing date has been extended to 10 July.

She said: “We have seen a series of high profile events such as the Manchester Arena Bombing and other terror attacks at Westminster, London Bridge and Finsbury Park, as well as the Glenfell tower block inferno, where frontline NHS staff, paramedics, doctors and nurses have all demonstrated the ultimate in compassionate care.

“These, as well as the day-to-day and all year round dedication of many, many staff, should feature in this year’s entries.

“Compassionate care is going from strength to strength despite the pressures people face – public awareness has probably never been higher than it is at this moment – and the 2017 awards give a real chance for staff working across the NHS and beyond to be recognised for their commitment to making a fantastic difference to patient care.

“This is your chance to nominate an individual, a team or an organisation to recognise and celebrate the work they do. Staff across the NHS do a fantastic job, even when they are confronted by issues and challenges, they strive to deliver the best care they can.”

The awards are named after Dr Kate Granger who sadly passed away in 2016 and who, before her death, worked tirelessly to raise awareness around compassion in the NHS through her #hellomynameis social media campaign.

It was while undergoing treatment for cancer that Kate started writing about seeing the NHS “through the eyes of a patient”. She launched her campaign to talk about some of her intensely moving experiences.

The campaign reminds health care professionals of the importance of introducing themselves to patients and how a relatively ‘little thing’ can positively affect a patient’s experience of the treatment and care they receive. The campaign has a global following and is backed by a significant number of health trusts across England and beyond.

There are three award categories:

• For an individual working in the NHS or delivering NHS funded services
• For teams who are part of the NHS or who deliver NHS funded services
• And finally, for whole organisations that are part of the NHS or deliver NHS funded services.

And it’s important to note that these services can be delivered in hospitals, or a primary care, community or residential setting.

The closing date for entries is now Monday 10 July 2017 and judges will be looking for an individual, team or organisation that has made a unique difference to patient care.

They will be looking in particular for:

• an ambitious and innovative way of delivering patient care
• high-quality management and leadership
• an approach that can be easily measured and have a real impact
• how the approach has made a difference to patient care
• how it makes a difference in the long term
• how easily it can be replicated in other organisations

Kate Granger’s husband, Chris Pointon, who continues to be central to the awards, said: “The Kate Granger Awards for Compassionate Care are a real chance for organisations, teams and individuals to shine and fly the flag for the work they do to improve outcomes for patients and service users.

“I’m looking forward to reviewing this year’s entries, along with the judging panel and I can honestly say that Kate would have been so pleased to see her work and campaign to highlight the importance of compassionate care growing across England, the UK and beyond.”

The awards, which are supported by HIMSS UK – a not-for-profit organisation focused on transforming health and care through Information Technology – will be presented at the 2017 Health and Care Innovation Expo to be staged in Manchester in September.

• For further information read more about this year’s awards and complete the short nomination form to highlight care and compassion that really shines out.