Senior leaders representing staff and patients have pledged their support for a one-off competition to celebrate the contribution of health and care workers during the NHS’s 70th birthday year.

The NHS70 Parliamentary Awards were launched last month, and will see English MPs put forward individuals and teams serving their constituencies for national recognition.

As the window for nominations nears its close on 23 March, leading figures working in health and care have now backed the awards, and will sit on the national judging panel to decide the winner in each of ten categories.

The judging panel will be co-chaired by Dr Neil Churchill, Director of Patient Experience for NHS England, and Dr Ruth May, Executive Director of Nursing at NHS Improvement.

They will now be joined by:

• Rachel Power, Chief Executive of the Patients Association, the country’s foremost voice for people who use health and care services.
• Dave Prentis, General Secretary of Unison, the largest healthcare trades union, representing hundreds of thousands of staff members working across health and care.
• Professor Helen Stokes-Lampard, Chair of the Royal College of General Practitioners, the professional membership body representing the tens of thousands of family doctors working in England.
• Janet Davies, General Secretary and Chief Executive of the Royal College of Nursing, which represents hundreds of thousands of nurses and other staff working across health and care settings.
• Dr Jeeves Wijesuriya, Chair of the British Medical Association’s Junior Doctors Committee, which represents tens of thousands of frontline medics in the early stages of their career.
• Andreas Haimböck-Tichy, Director of Healthcare and Life Sciences at IBM, the headline sponsors of the NHS70 Parliamentary Awards and a key supplier of services to NHS organisations.

Dr Neil Churchill said: “We are delighted to have gained the support of leaders representing different and important parts of the community who work in, support and use the NHS. There is a huge appetite in this 70th year of the NHS to thank staff and celebrate the work they do, day in, day out for all of us.”

Dr Ruth May said: “We have had a really positive response from MPs keen to take this unique opportunity to highlight the many examples of amazing work going on in their areas, and I look forward to working with all of the judges to review the nominations we receive.”

The NHS70 Parliamentary Awards is part of a range of activities being organised by NHS England and NHS Improvement, working with a wide range of partners, to celebrate the achievements of the NHS and those who work for and with it.

MPs are being encouraged to search for outstanding nominees who have innovated, impressed and made a real difference to how the health and care system provides care for their constituents.

There are ten categories, including a lifetime achievement award to honour those who have devoted their lives or careers to making the NHS better, both for patients and those who work within it.

The winners will receive their awards at a ceremony in the Palace of Westminster on July 4th, the day before the NHS’s 70th birthday.

MPs have until 23 March to submit nominations. Further information on the Parliamentary Awards, including how to nominate and the criteria for each category, is available at www.nhs70awards.co.uk.