The NHS in the South West has today (Monday 24th June) revealed the ten individuals and teams chosen as regional champions in the prestigious parliamentary awards.

The champions will now vie with other regional winners from across England for a national award to be presented at a special ceremony at the Houses of Parliament in July.

The NHS parliamentary awards recognise the massive contribution made by the individuals and teams who work in and alongside the NHS. Launched in February, the region’s MPs were asked to nominate those they thought have made the biggest improvements to health services in their constituencies across ten categories.

The ten outstanding nominations which exemplify the best of what the NHS and its partners do, day in, day out.

The regional champions are:

• The Care and Compassion Award: Kate Tantam & the ICU Rehabilitation Team, University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust
• The Excellence in Healthcare Award: Well Woman Clinic Nurses, 2gether NHS Foundation Trust
• The Excellence in Mental Health Care Award: Kingfisher Treasure Seekers, Gloucester
• The Excellence in Primary Care Award: Ade Williams, Bedminster Pharmacy, Bristol
• The Excellence in Urgent and Emergency Care Award: The Geriatric Emergency Medicine Service, Weston Area Health NHS Trust
• The Future NHS Award: Linzi Lancaster, Royal Cornwall Hospitals Trust
• The Health Equalities Award: Primary Care Workforce Team, Gloucestershire CCG & Gloucestershire Primary Care Training Hub
• The Volunteer of the Year Award: Maggie Vale, Healthwatch Cornwall
• The Well-being at Work Award: Wellbeing at Work, North Bristol NHS Trust
• The Lifetime Achievement Award: Mary Robertson, South Petherton Community Hospital League of Friends

All will now be invited to the national awards ceremony, which will be held on Wednesday 10 July in the House of Commons. The judging panel will include the leaders of royal colleges, the Unison trade union, and the Patients Association – collectively representing millions of health and care workers and patients.

Sue Doheny, Chief Nurse for NHS England in the South West, said: “The nominations show there are many ways to improve care for patients, directly or indirectly. The ten are worthy winners, so I wish them all the best of luck in the national awards.”

More details on each champion can be found below.

Category: The Care and Compassion Award

Nominated by: Johnny Mercer MP

Nominee Name: Kate Tantam & the ICU Rehabilitation Team, University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust

Kate’s work is to improve rehab and recovery in the ICU for survivors of critical illness. This includes managing Post Intensive Care Syndrome, allowing access to outdoor garden space and bringing in pet therapy dogs during rehabilitation. Families and carers are involved in the rehabilitation journey.

Kate Tantam, Specialist Research and Education Sister in ICU said: “The NHS’s greatest asset is its workforce. A team that irrespective of designation, role or location pull together to make a difference and to provide care.

All of the work that we have done in Plymouth is to point out the everyday excellence already embedded in these teams and say well done. Anyone can make a difference to recovery, and anyone can be a #rehablegend. The little things are the big things when it comes to care.”

Category: The Excellence in Healthcare Award

Nominated by: Richard Graham MP

Nominee Name: Well Woman Clinic Nurses, 2gether NHS Foundation Trust

Innovative programme to encourage women in mental health care setting to have a cervical smear test. Brings together improved physical and mental healthcare and ensuring this group of women are not denied access to essential screening on the basis of their mental illness.

Angela Willan of the Well Woman clinic team said: “People with serious mental illness are 30% more likely to die from cancer than the general population, with one possible reason being the low uptake of screening. Our well woman clinics and cervical screening helped address this inequality and we’re working to expand the support we can provide.”

Category: The Excellence in Mental Health Care Award

Nominated by: Richard Graham MP

Nominee Name: Kingfisher Treasure Seekers, Gloucester

Strong partnership between police service and health to enable hard to reach groups to keep them engaged in their community and healthy. Well evaluated and evidence of impact. NHS England and NHS Improvement – South West

Katie Tucker, Director at Kingfishers Treasure Seekers said: ‘We are truly humbled to have won the regional NHS Parliamentary Awards for Excellence in Mental Health Care. We founded Kingfisher Treasure Seekers to support the most vulnerable in our community to become ‘the best version of themselves’. We have the privilege of walking alongside a thousand people at the darkest period of their lives and can offer non-clinical, wrap around support.

“The Cavern is a unique service which helps people with chaotic lives and significant mental health needs who often don’t engage with traditional services We have seen hundreds of declared instances of suicide prevention and vast increases in overall wellbeing as a result. It’s wonderful that this has been recognised.”

Category: The Excellence in Primary Care Award

Nominated by: Karin Smyth MP

Nominee Name: Ade Williams, Bedminster Pharmacy, Bristol

Reason for nomination: Ade is known for his commitment to providing excellent person-centred primary care. Ade volunteers extensively outside his portfolio roles in community pharmacy and GP practice. Ade supports academic research and writes in publications for health professionals and the public. He is a conference speaker and works not just to broaden and share knowledge locally but increasingly internationally. His work now forms part of case studies used by national and local organisations. He has provided case studies for the Royal Pharmaceutical Society for his work across many areas. He showcases the difference community pharmacy can make.

Ade Williams, Lead Pharmacist at Bedminster Pharmacy, said: “The Bedminster Pharmacy team and I are pleased that our innovative delivery of exceptional personalised care reminds everyone that Community Pharmacy has a unique role in the NHS family. Community Pharmacy is the arms of the NHS, at the centre of the interlinked and convoluted relationships that health and social care systems grapple with daily.

My work is always driven by my conviction in the NHS constitution values, and it hopefully proves that when communities and clinicians work together, irrevocable improvements occur. I am a proud ambassador of the Pancreatic Cancer Action and a Patient Advocate for the Royal Pharmaceutical Society.”

Category: The Excellence in Urgent and Emergency Care Award

Nominated by: John Penrose MP

Nominee Name: Rachael Morris, The Geriatric Emergency Medicine Service, Weston Area Health NHS Trust

An acute frailty service intended to assess all of a patient’s needs, including whether or not they need to be admitted, and what better options may be possible. Very strong connection and collaboration with carers and families.

Rachael Morris, Frailty Service Lead, Weston General Hospital said: “We’re thrilled to be south west regional winners. Weston General Hospital is a small busy hospital with a higher than average numbers of elderly patients. The frail elderly is a vulnerable group with complex needs and we’re privileged to care for them

The GEMS team is part of the bigger A&E team and includes doctors, nurses, a physio, pharmacist and administrator. By looking at the needs of the whole person and not just clinical we’re able to offer a service that’s tailored to each patient and means the hospital only admits patients that need our care. This is going to be especially important with an aging population and increasing demands on the NHS.”

Category: The Future NHS Award

Nominated by: Sarah Newton MP

Nominee Name: Linzi Lancaster, Royal Cornwall Hospitals Trust

Ms Lancaster has developed a business information and intelligence tool (Radar) which helps improve patient flows, supports staff in doing their jobs, and provides clinically rich data as well as summarised information.

Matt Ashton, Deputy Head of Information and Business Intelligence at Royal Cornwall Hospitals Trust said: Within the information intelligence team we have a huge sense pride that we have delivered a reporting solution that’s changing patient care.

“We have set up alerts so that if a vulnerable adult, for example, interacts with any of our systems, the relevant teams, like safeguarding and clinicians, will be emailed within two minutes.

“Theatre staff are also saying that our theatre data is the best they have seen nationally. We feel that we are empowering them as live data is now available at a level it has never been available before. Clinicians now take ownership of information. There are many more data fields, a real granular level of data, and the different systems talk to each other. We have never experienced the kind of clinical staff engagement that we have now.”

Category: The Health Equalities Award

Nominated by: Richard Graham MP

Nominee Name: Primary Care Workforce Team, Gloucestershire CCG & Gloucestershire Primary Care Training Hub

The CCG primary care workforce team has established a Health Inequalities Fellowship for GPs, promoting better connections into services around drugs and alcohol, safeguarding, domestic violence, refugees and asylum seekers, and social prescribing. They are also funded for a Post Graduate Certificate in Public Health at the University of the West of England.

Mary Hutton, Accountable Officer at NHS Gloucestershire Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) and One Gloucestershire Integrated Care System (ICS) Lead said: “We are incredibly proud of making the official shortlist for a national award, fighting off tough competition from nearly 600 nominations.

Thank you to our local MPs for recognising and appreciating the creativity and hard work of our staff and services, and for making these nominations.”

Category: The Volunteer of the Year Award

Nominated by: Sarah Newton MP

Nominee Name: Maggie Vale, Healthwatch Cornwall

Following the death of her husband, Mrs Vale approached Healthwatch Cornwall with the concerns she had about his end of life care. As a result she has become an active figure within HealthWatch Cornwall, working to improve EOLC. Her experience has become part of mandatory training and influences Boards to improve. She continues to volunteer and to encourage patient engagement.

Amanda Stratford, CEO of Healthwatch Cornwall, said: “Maggie Vale has through the first step of sharing her experience, worked with us to influence significant changes in end-of-life care across Cornwall. She is working alongside professionals in contributing to the Sweeney quality improvement project across the county and continues to volunteer for Healthwatch Cornwall.”

Category: The Wellbeing at Work Award

Nominated by: Darren Jones MP

Nominee Name: Wellbeing at Work team, North Bristol NHS Trust

A wide ranging programme of staff support initiatives based on the premise that improved staff wellbeing brings about excellent patient care. Options include mindfulness, Schwartz rounds, mental health first aid training, sleep, pain and fatigue workshops, wellbeing walks, resilience training, post-trauma support, physiotherapy, nutritional advice and access to two psychologists for 1:1 support.

Guy Dickson, Head of People Strategy for North Bristol NHS Trust said: “We’re so excited to be shortlisted in the NHS Parliamentary Awards for Wellbeing at Work! At North Bristol NHS Trust, we know that the better our staff feel, the higher the quality of care they are able to provide to our patients. The wellbeing of our staff is hugely important to us, which is why we tell them “Your health is as important as our patients’”; and why we feel so proud to have this recognition.”

Category: The Lifetime Achievement Award

Nomianted by: Marcus Fysh MP

Nominee Name: Mary Robertson, Chairperson, South Petherton Community Hospital League of Friends

Mary Robertson began work in the NHS as a ward sister in 1975 and retired due to ill health in 1993. Her work, contribution and dedication was recognised by the local Regional Health Authority at the time. Post retirement she joined the League of Friends, and is now their Chairperson, and continues to lead and contribute their work in terms of her public service. She has campaigned for improved stroke rehabilitation and community care and led large fundraising programmes to provide a new hospital in South Petherton.

Mary Robertson, Chairperson of the South Petherton Community Hospital League of Friends said: “As Matron I had a lovely career with a lot of involvement with the patients and the staff and developed a great team atmosphere. Having a great team around you is the best way to work. I never woke up and thought ‘I don’t want to go to work today’.

As Chair of the League of Friends I made a difference by championing and achieving the building of a new hospital in South Petherton. This was completed with the support of many local people. This took a lot of time and effort on my part which was easy to give as I am so passionate about this hospital. This is a wonderful hospital which is a centre for stroke excellence in Somerset.”