The NHS in the East of England is celebrating the staff and teams who have won regional categories in the 2023 Parliamentary Awards, after being nominated by their local MPs.

Winners have been chosen in ten categories, with each now also going forward to the national awards in London on 5 July – the NHS’s 75^th birthday. The ceremony will be held at the Queen Elizabeth II Centre, Westminster.

Dr Edward Morris, medical director for the NHS in the East of England, said:

“These awards highlight the amazing work that NHS staff and volunteers carry out across the East of England – including urgent and emergency care, helping people in mental health crisis, to helping new mums with breastfeeding support and advice.

“Their tireless commitment and outstanding care are heart-warming, and I’m delighted to see our dedicated staff and teams recognised in this way.

“I’d like to congratulate every single one of the winners, and to thank all the MPs who nominated them.”

The 2023 regional winners, selected by NHS leaders in the East of England are:

The Excellence in Urgent and Emergency Care Award Provide Community Interest Company (CIC) Child Health Information Service (CHIS).  Nominated by James Wild MP

This service put in place a digital process to replace the more than 1000 manual paper notifications a week on the triaging of children’s A&E attendances in Norfolk.  As a result of the introduction of the new service, there has been improved timeliness of attendance data being available to clinicians; reduced time spent processing attendance data, enabling clinicians to spend more time responding to the attendances; and better reporting of patient data such as safeguarding status.

Families requiring help are now contacted much quicker by clinicians, who have their full attendance history and can help them access the support they need to avoid repeat attendances.

The Excellence in Mental Health Care Award Mental health joint response vehicle initiative – Cambridgeshire & Peterborough Foundation Trust.  Nominated by Stephen Barclay MP; Paul Bristow MP; Jonathan Djanogly MP; Lucy Fraser MP

The response cars provide mental health help and support when the police are called out to people in a mental health crisis. Staff from Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust, the organisation which provides mental health care and treatment, have joined police in two specialist response cars.

The project, funded by the Cambridgeshire & Peterborough ICS, means that expert support from mental health practitioners is on hand and can help calm a situation and, in many cases, can avoid police using their powers to detain people, or unnecessary conveying to hospital.

Between March 2022 and January 2023 the pilot car attended 925 incidents (average of 102 per month) and of these 58% were identified as mental health incidents.

The Future NHS Award RealWear Kez Spelman Provide Community Interest Company.  Nominated by Will Quince MP

RealWear are smart glasses worn by nurses when visiting patients in their homes, helping them to complete tasks using their both hands while they collaborate with an online clinician who can view what the nurse is seeing via the glasses and give appropriate advice and guidance.

The smart glasses are mainly used by graduate nurses, enabling them to have access to remote support through the headsets, enabling them to provide treatments they may not have been able to if they were on their own. Input from senior clinicians has also resulted in care plans being changed, improving patient outcomes as a result.

The Excellence in Healthcare Award Virtual Hospital Programme West Herts Teaching Hospital and Central London Community. Nominated by Oliver Dowden MP

The hospital’s pioneering virtual hospital (VH) puts the patient as the central focus of care surrounded by a multi-disciplinary and multi-agency team aiming to provide a wraparound service of community support and care. Under the model of care, technology is used to provide a regular feed of health data from the patient in their own homes to a virtual hospital hub where the results are closely monitored by clinicians.

Excellent clinical outcomes and positive patient feedback have spurred the team on to roll out this model of care for further conditions, including pneumonia, frailty, diabetes, and kidney disease.

The Excellence in Primary Care and Community Care Award East and North Hertfordshire Hospital at Home Service.  Nominated by Oliver Heald MP and Stephen McPartland MP

The East and North Hertfordshire hospital at home service support patients to remain in their own home while still receiving the care that they need.  More than 4,000 NHS patients in Hertfordshire have benefited from the service since its implementation in January 2022. The service includes face-to-face nursing care and therapy, as well as remote monitoring services for a range of conditions for up to two weeks. This care is provided by doctors, nurses, therapists, and pharmacists.

The service provides a personalised plan for each patient based on their needs and uses a combination of services and technology. Patients also receive input from community and voluntary sector partners to support with their non-medical requirements e.g. Meals on Wheels.

The Health Equalities Award The Anchor Programme: Southend Ambition.  Nominated by James Duddridge MP and Rebecca Harris MP

The Southend Ambition project enables people who are unemployed or economically inactive to work in either Southend Hospital or the local health and care sector. In partnership with local organisations, the project builds on existing programmes and helps those who are not normally reached by traditional recruitment processes.

After its successful first year, the programme is being expanded to benefit communities in Basildon, Chelmsford, and Thurrock, while supporting recruitment across Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust and the wider healthcare sector.

The Nursing and Midwifery Award Carer Support Nurse Pilot – East Coast Community Healthcare. Nominated by Brandon Lewis MP

East Coast Community Healthcare’s (ECCH) Carer Support Nurse service assists unpaid carers to look after their health and wellbeing and boosts their skills and confidence to care.

The pilot scheme was launched to address the perceived ‘gap’ in healthcare provision following research by the University of East Anglia who have worked with ECCH to operationalise the role. During set-up, the programme was endorsed by 100+ carers and patients and 70+ stakeholders and groups from health, social care and voluntary sectors.

The NHS Rising Star Award Miss Courtenay Schaffer Executive Assistant to Chief Nursing Officer NHS Cambridgeshire and Peterborough.  Nominated by Stephen Barclay MP; Paul Bristow MP; Jonathan Djanogly MP; Lucy Frazer MP. 

Courtenay has worked in the NHS for five years and joined when she was 21 years old and is the shining example of a rising star.  She works as the Executive Assistant to the Chief Nurse, where she is often the public face of the NHS for patients and their families, as well as other professionals. Courtenay often deals with complex and emotive conversations, and she is compassionate in her encounters with the public.  Courtenay will go the extra mile to ensure members of the public find resolution or the answer they are seeking.

Courtenay constantly goes above and beyond what is expected and takes every opportunity she can to learn about the NHS and importantly about how to make it better for patients and staff. She is a very valued member of the team and ensures that everyone is heard and often speaks up on behalf of others.

She is an incredible asset to the NHS, and  a true example of a rising star within the organisation.

The Lifetime Achievement Award Louise Allen Consultant Paediatric Ophthalmologist Surgeon Cambridge University Hospital.  Nominated by Paul Bristow MP.

Miss Louise Allen is a full-time leading Consultant Paediatric Ophthalmic Surgeon at CUH, where she runs paediatric and genetics clinics and performs paediatric ophthalmic surgery.  Her lifelong commitment to the NHS is remarkable, with decades of training, produced extensive published research, won many prizes and regularly presents at conferences. She supervises research as a leading expert, and has been an Affiliated Associate Professor at Cambridge University since 2003.

During her career, Louise has saved the sight of thousands of children, and has developed new technology which measures eyes more accurately with less upset to young patients and identifies more brain tumours earlier.  Her leadership, dedication and warmth build a positive, efficient organisation, where staff are motivated and valued. She is an outstanding teacher, surgeon, and innovator.

The Volunteer Award Bedfordshire Breastfeeding buddies.  Nominated by Richard FullerMP; Mohammad Yasin MP.

Bedfordshire Breastfeeding Buddies are volunteers with lived experiences of breastfeeding/chestfeeding, providing support at Baby Brasseries, which are infant feeding support groups based in children’s centres in Bedford Borough and Central Bedfordshire.

The volunteers have been so successful because parents are often more open to receiving key information from people who have had similar experiences to them (i.e. fed their own baby) than from health professionals, who may be perceived to be an authority figure. Volunteers have more time than staff to listen to a parent talk about their experiences, and Buddies are trained in active listening and communication skills, meaning that they are able to be non-judgemental and empathetic when supporting parents.

Since the launch, the buddies have supported thousands of parents across Bedfordshire.  One parent supported at a Brasserie recently, fed back that the group had been a “lifesaver” and if it hadn’t been for the support from the Buddy, they would have stopped breastfeeding.