NHS Excellence Awards

Thank you to everyone who submitted an entry to the NHS Excellence Awards 2026. We received a fantastic response from teams and individuals across the country, showcasing the outstanding work taking place across health and care to improve outcomes, transform services and deliver for patients and communities.

Following regional and national judging we are delighted to announce the NHS Excellence Awards 2026 winners, celebrated at a recent awards ceremony at NHS ConfedExpo. Congratulations to all our winners and regional champions!

Winners

Award

Name or project

Organisation
Delivering value award – sponsored by PwC UK The Medway SMART Acute Virtual Hospital Medway NHS Foundation Trust
Digital innovation award – sponsored by Flexzo AI NHS 111 Online Self-Referral for Breast Cancer Diagnostics Somerset NHS Foundation Trust and NHS England
Improving health outcomes award – sponsored by Pfizer Limited East Midlands CAMHS Collaborative Northamptonshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust
Leadership award – sponsored by the Chartered Management Institute Dr Jess Harvey South East Shropshire Primary Care Network
Neighbourhood health award – sponsored by Boehringer Ingelheim * Liverpool Place Population Management (Proactive Care) NHS Cheshire and Merseyside Integrated Care Board
Patient involvement and choice award South East London ICB Women’s and Girls’ Health Hub NHS South East London Integrated Care Board
Quality improvement award – sponsored by IQVIA Gold Team Approach to Improving Palliative and End of Life Care in General Practice Holderness Health
Sustainable healthcare award North West London Sleep Medicine Services and Imperial Health Impact Lab NHS West and North London Integrated Care Board
Valuing our people award – supported by GXO North East and North Cumbria Staff Mental Health and Wellbeing Hub North East and North Cumbria Integrated Care Board and Cumbria, Northumberland, Tyne and Wear NHS Foundation Trust
Working in partnership award Marie Curie Responsive Emergency Assessment and Community Team (REACT) Marie Curie Hospice, Bradford and Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

What are the NHS Excellence Awards?

The NHS Excellence Awards 2026 are run by, and for, the NHS – shining a light on local projects and teams making a real difference to patients and communities, delivering on the ambitions of the 10 Year Health Plan and inspiring others to adopt innovative approaches in their local area.

There’s lots of great work happening across the country every day and the awards help share the best of the NHS with the rest of the NHS.

The NHS Excellence Awards 2026 are delivered in partnership with Pfizer. We would also like to thank all our category sponsors and awards partners for their support in helping make the awards possible.

Please keep an eye on this page and our channels for the latest news about the awards programme.

Regional champions

Delivering value award

Region

Name

Organisation
East of England Pre-hospital Stroke Video Triage Integrated Stroke Delivery Networks, East of England – East of England Ambulance Service NHS Trust
London Pharmacy Team – Medicines Modernisation Programme London Ambulance Service NHS Trust
Midlands The Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland Chronic Kidney Disease Integrated Care Delivery (LUCID) programme NHS Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland Integrated Care Board
North East and Yorkshire Transforming Same Day Urgent Care and Winter Services across North Yorkshire Nimbuscare
North West Care Closer, Care Smarter: Transforming Mental Health Flow in Greater Manchester Greater Manchester Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust, Pennine Care NHS Foundation Trust and NHS Greater Manchester Integrated Care Board
South West Drugless CT Coronary Angiography Service At University Hospitals Plymouth University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust

 

Digital innovation award

Region

Name

Organisation
East of England Digital Health Team – Digital First Transformation East Coast Community Healthcare
London Real-Time Location System (RTLS) Project Barts Health NHS Trust
Midlands From Paper Registers to Real-Time Safety: A Clinically Led Digital Transformation of Controlled Drug Management University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust
North East and Yorkshire Virtual Wards in Secure Environments Spectrum Community Health CIC
North West Digitally Transforming Dialysis: The UK’s First Largest Bidirectional Device‑to‑Main EPR Integration Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust
South East Enhancing T2/T3 Prescribing with Digitisation and Decision Support in ePMA Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust

Improving health outcomes award

Region

Name

Organisation
East of England Youth Workers in Hospital NHS Essex Integrated Care Board
London Gypsy, Roma and Traveller (GRT) Engagement Project NHS North East London Cancer Alliance
North East and Yorkshire Wakefield Family Nurse Partnership Team Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust
North West “Let’s Talk Boobs” Pennine Care NHS Foundation Trust
South East Isle of Wight Ambulance Service – Out‑of‑Hospital Cardiac Arrest Survival Improvement Programme Isle of Wight NHS Trust
South West The Market Health Hub Coast and Country Primary Care Network

Leadership award

Region

Name

Organisation
East of England Dr Elizabeth Kendrick Hertfordshire Community NHS Trust
London Leeanne McGee West London NHS Trust
North East and Yorkshire Lucy Elkiss West Yorkshire Cancer Alliance
North West Duncan Craig We are Survivors
South East Michelle Gallagher Royal Surrey NHS Foundation Trust
South West Dr. Scott Grier Retrieve Adult Critical Care Transport Service

Neighbourhood health award

Region

Name

Organisation
East of England Revolutionising Oncology: The “Care Closer to Home” SACT Model Enabling Home Self-Administration East and North Hertfordshire Teaching NHS Trust
London CHILDS – Child Health Integrated Learning and Delivery System Evelina London Children’s Hospital
Midlands Team Up NHS Derby and Derbyshire Integrated Care Board
North East and Yorkshire Safety Hub – Bishop Auckland Rethink Mental Illness
South East East Brighton Integrated Community (Neighbourhood) Team East Brighton and Hove Integrated Community Team, NHS Surrey and Sussex Integrated Care Board
South West Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Neighbourhood Health Cornwall Partnership NHS Foundation Trust

Patient involvement and choice award

Region

Name

Organisation
East of England Carer Experience Service East and North Hertfordshire Teaching NHS Trust
Midlands Little Voices Walsall Healthcare NHS Trust
North East and Yorkshire Gleadless and Heeley Neighbourhood Mental Health Centre project Sheffield Health Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust
North West Neuro Rehabilitation Online Service East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust
South East Care Co-ordinators + Family Engagement Leads – The Baby Steps: Our Neonatal Journey Cards South East Neonatal ODN
South West Isaac’s Story – Leading to System Wide Change For Deaf People and National BSL Diabetes Films NHS Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Integrated Care Board

Quality improvement award

Region

Name

Organisation
East of England Using Ambient Voice Technology to reduce report writing time on an ASD diagnostic pathway Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust (Milton Keynes based service)
London Harrow Psychotropic and Physical Health Clinics Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust
Midlands PCN Equity Review Tool Nottingham West Primary Care Network
North West Touch Activated Phlebotomy for Patients with Learning Disabilities University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation Trust
South East Integrated Frailty Crisis Pathway Royal Surrey NHS Foundation Trust
South West Acute Medical Admission Pathways University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust

Sustainable healthcare award

Region

Name

Organisation
East of England The Green Plan Essex Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust
Midlands Bronze to Gold University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Trust
North East and Yorkshire Reusable Surgical Hats, Recycling Frayed Shirts and Second Hand Linen North Cumbria Integrated Care

 
North West ECO4 Flex Health Referral Pathways NHS Greater Manchester Integrated Care Board
South East Green Nursing Challenge 2025: A Transformative 15-week Journey Centre for Sustainable Healthcare
South West Peeinpot (PiP) Somerset NHS Foundation Trust

Valuing our people award

Region

Name

Organisation
East of England CPFT’s AHP Led, Evidence Based Wellbeing Programme Supporting a Healthier Workforce Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust
London Kofoworola Abeni Pratt Fellowship Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust
Midlands #morethanajob Sandwell and West Birmingham Hospitals NHS Trust
North West Your Future Your Way – Breaking Down Barriers to Career Progression Warrington and Halton Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
South East BrigHT futures @BHT Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust
South West Reasonable Adjustments Project Devon Partnership NHS Trust

Working in partnership award

Region

Name

Organisation
East of England Supporting a Peaceful Death at Home in Patients with Interstitial Lung Disease Hospice of St Francis, West Hertfordshire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust and Central London Community Healthcare NHS Trust
London Stroke Rehabilitation Programme – NHS and Football Club Foundation Partnership London North West University Healthcare NHS Trust
Midlands Navigating Our Womanhood Together (NOWT) — Co-Producing Better Access to Women’s Health in the Black Country NHS Black Country Integrated Care Board
North West Greater Manchester Urgent Primary Care Alliance Greater Manchester Urgent Primary Care Alliance
South East Solving Problems, Transforming Lives: Addressing the Underlying Triggers of Mental Health Crisis Hampshire and Isle of Wight Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust and Citizens Advice Winchester District
South West A System‑Wide Partnership for Compassionate End‑of‑Life Care University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust

Find out more

Read our FAQs or email england.nhsawards@nhs.net if you have any further questions about the awards.

* Boehringer Ingelheim is proud to sponsor the neighbourhood health award category. The Director of Health Systems Partnerships was invited to join the judging panel of the shortlisted group of finalists. No benefit arose to the organisation, and no conflict of interest exists.