The Chief Allied Health Professions Officer (CAHPO) Awards is a unique opportunity for allied health professionals (AHPs) to receive recognition for their personal contributions towards delivery of exceptional care for patients. The awards also promote adoption and scale of good practice through celebrating and sharing success.
The awards are open to all 14 AHPs including support workers, assistant practitioners, registered professionals, and pre-registration apprentices and students. You can either nominate yourself or another AHP or AHP team. Only the names of the people shortlisted will be published.
Please note that the CAHPO Awards is for NHS or publicly funded initiatives/projects within England. Some nominations may be applicable to more than one category. If you wish to nominate an individual or team for more than one award, please ensure that you can identify the specific details relevant to each category. While dual submissions are allowed, only one category will proceed to final shortlisting if both are successful.
Nomination form: NHS England – Citizen Space: Chief Allied Health Professions Officer Awards 2026 nomination form
Queries: england.cahpo@nhs.net
Award categories
AHP Creative Provision of Placements Award
Nominations are welcomed from AHP leaders, educators and/or students from health and social care or education (teams or individuals) who have helped change the face of AHP practice-based learning. This should include initiatives that have increased the number of practice-based learning opportunities and will sustain this increase whilst maintaining or improving quality.
AHP Public Health Award
This award recognises an AHP team or individual who has delivered service improvements which benefit population health and wellbeing and/or reduced health inequalities. Nominations are welcome from AHPs and their teams including support workers and students.
AHP Digital Practice Award
Nominations are welcome from AHPs who have led the way in digital developments. They need to be able to demonstrate innovation in information and communication technologies and how the innovation, project or initiative impacts in one or more of the impact areas, commitments or priorities in AHPs Deliver.
AHP Workforce Transformation Award
Nominations are welcome for this award from individual AHPs or teams who are demonstrating transformation through innovation in AHP workforce supply, this can include or be from pre-registration through to post programmes settings for example, new ways of offering work experience, return to practice, advance practice and international recruitment.
Greener AHP Award
This award recognises an AHP team or individual who has delivered service improvements which improve healthcare’s environmental impact, for example carbon reduction projects or increasing equipment reuse. Nominations are welcome from AHPs and their teams, including support workers and students.
AHP Innovation and Improvement Award
Nominations are welcomed from AHP practitioners, or a team of practitioners to which AHPs have contributed, who have relentlessly focused on driving quality improvement in their work and who have been strong advocates for quality improvement. This may include practitioners who are involved in coordinating quality improvement work at a local level or individuals who are dedicated drivers for change and improvement.
AHP Leadership for Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Award
This award acknowledges and celebrates AHPs who have made a significant contribution to the advancement of the equality, diversity and inclusion agenda. Taking positive action to ensure strategies/policies and wider work programmes are equitable, inclusive and give due regard to the diversity and strengths of all our communities, therefore facilitating the AHP workforce to reflect the people and populations we serve, through targeted evidence-based interventions.
AHP Research Impact Award
This award focuses on the contribution made by AHPs in developing, leading or supporting research in health, social care and public health, and the impact that this contribution has made. Submissions are welcome from individuals or teams who have led research related projects or initiatives that have had a positive impact on AHPs, AHP services, people and communities – including but not limited to safety, quality and outcomes; service delivery, efficiency and productivity; or education and workforce development.
Scoring criteria
| Criteria | Score 3 (strong) | Score 2 (good/adequate) | Score 1 (lacking detail) | Score 0 (not explained or included) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Is the nomination aligned to the impacts, priorities and commitments outlined in AHPs Deliver? | Strong alignment with several of the impacts, priorities and commitments in AHPs Deliver, and which demonstrates relevance to patient care, quality or service improvement. | Topic of relevance to one or more of the impacts, priorities and commitments in AHPs Deliver. | Topic only weakly linked to one of the impacts, priorities and commitments in AHPs Deliver. | Not relevant to AHPs Deliver. |
| Is the problem/reason for implementing clearly defined? | Reason for initiative clearly defined, with use of comprehensive and relevant baseline data and evidence on quality, outcomes, including service-user experience. | Reason for initiative defined, with some use of relevant baseline data and evidence. | Reason for initiative defined but lacks adequate detail. | Little or no sufficient definition or reason given. |
| Are aims and objectives for the initiative clearly defined? | The aims, objectives and innovation are clearly articulated, and appropriate to the topic/area of practice. Clear link between aims, objectives and innovation and the problem/reason for implementing. | Adequate description of aims, objectives and innovation. Weak link to problem/reason for implementing. | Aims, objectives and innovation are included but lack adequate detail. No clear link to the original problem identified. | Little or no reference to aims, objectives and innovation. |
| Method and implementation approach |
Implementation method clearly described with a strong reference to partnerships and collaboration. Co-production is evidenced. |
Method adequately described, with some reference of partnerships and collaboration. |
Method described but lacks detail and little to no reference partnerships and collaboration. |
Little or no description of the method/approach used. |
| Results, evaluation and demonstrating impact | Quantitative and qualitative data/findings clearly articulated and demonstrate the shift from baseline position. Impact on quality (experience, effectiveness, safety) and efficiency of care/services is presented. | Data/findings presented adequately, the shift from baseline is evident, however may be some gaps in demonstrating impact across quality or efficiency of care. | Data/findings briefly presented but lack adequate detail. | Data/findings insufficiently clear or misinterpreted. |
| Key learning points | Lessons learned that are of importance and relevance for future similar projects are included. This includes what didn’t work well as well as what did. | A number of lessons learned, of relevance to similar projects and initiatives are articulated however there may be gaps in insights shared. | Minimal lessons learned are included but clear gaps in learning opportunities are apparent. | Lesson learned not included, or not relevant to other projects or initiatives. |
| Sharing/implications for practise | Clear, comprehensive, and ambitious plans for sharing are in place and elements have already been enacted. | Plan for sharing/spread are included; but no evidence of delivery. | Some evidence of sharing but significant missed opportunities, minimal evidence of sharing/implications for practice. | No evidence of consideration or plans for sharing. |
Allied health professions – 3 national awards schemes
Chief Allied Health Professions Officer (CAHPO) Awards (England)
- awarded annually, usually October on/near National AHPs Day (14 October)
- awarded to an individual or team for the development and implementation of innovation and best practice to improve AHP services for patients
- 8 category winners, judging panel short-list, awarded by category sponsor
- 1 overall AHP of the Year winner (from the 8 category winners) awarded by the CAHPO
- Nominated by self or another/criteria to be met/judging process
Chief Allied Health Professions Officer’s (CAHPO) Gold Award For Excellence (England)
- awarded annually in March by the CAHPO
- recognises outstanding performance and leadership throughout an individual’s career
- nominated by another/criteria to be met/judging process
The Honours System (UK) [Not managed by the Office of the CAHPO]
- awarded by the King/state twice a year
- recognises outstanding contribution, achievement and service to society
- levels: British Empire Medal (BEM), Member (MBE), Officer (OBE), Commander (CBE), Knight (KBE)/Dame (DBE)
- nominated by another via a citation/judged via several Honours Committee stages
Timeline
- Friday 1 May 2026: nominations open
- Sunday 31 May 2026: nominations close
- Friday 31 July 2026: all nominations reviewed and marked
- Friday 14 August 2026: nomination outcomes communicated to nominators
- Friday 28 August 2026: shortlists announced by the CAHPO
- October 2026: winners announced by the CAHPO