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The NHS has today (6 March) launched the NHS Parliamentary Awards 2023, which recognise staff who have gone above and beyond the call of duty.

The awards were created to celebrate NHS staff, carers and volunteers – their hard work, innovative ideas and unwavering efforts to put patients first – and this year they are even more special, as they mark 75 years of the NHS caring for us from the cradle to the grave.

Competition is likely to be tough again this year as people across the health service have come together in recent times to realise some remarkable achievements. For instance, the NHS has been able to carry out research at an unprecedented scale during the pandemic and find the world’s first effective treatment for COVID-19, dexamethasone, making it available across every hospital the same day it was approved.

Staff coming together also enabled the NHS in England to make history when it delivered the first COVID-19 vaccine outside of clinical trials, as part of the biggest and fastest vaccine rollout in NHS history.

Dame Ruth May, chair of the judging panel and England’s Chief Nursing Officer, said:

“Staff and volunteers are at the heart of the NHS and have been throughout its 75 year history.

“The NHS Parliamentary Awards are a unique opportunity for MPs to highlight the amazing work done by NHS staff in their local areas, and I look forward to working with all of the judges to review the nominations we receive.”

This year there are 10 award categories, including the Lifetime Achievement Award, the Rising Star Award and, new for 2023, the Volunteer Award. The Volunteer Award will recognise all the hard work volunteers do to support the NHS in providing excellent care for patients, helping them to keep healthy and well.

All those who are shortlisted by the judging panel for the NHS Parliamentary Awards will be invited to an awards ceremony in Westminster to celebrate their fantastic achievements along with the MPs who nominated them.

The Awards are always welcomed by staff, who say the recognition is a real boost.

Previous winner Tim Allen, Admiral Nurse, said:

“Hannah and I were delighted to gain an opportunity to represent our Trust, as well as the charity Dementia UK, at a national level – attending the awards ceremony in London was an amazing experience and scooping the national awards in the nursing and midwifery category was a truly significant moment in the development of the Admiral Nurse service.

“We took personal pride in the achievement and were thrilled that our patients and carers living with dementia had been recognised nationally.”

There were more than 700 nominations from over half of all MPs representing constituencies in England last year – 700 examples of talent, creativity and brilliance in the NHS identified by England’s MPs.

MPs will be calling for potential nominations in the following categories:

• The Excellence in Healthcare: This award recognises individuals or teams who go above and beyond to either prevent major health conditions or improve outcomes and experiences for patients living with and beyond them.
• The Excellence in Mental Health Care Award: To the individual or team that has worked across organisational boundaries to develop new and effective services to help people living with mental health problems in their community.
• The Volunteer Award: The brand new Volunteer Award is for volunteers working to support the NHS to provide excellent care for patients, helping them to keep healthy and well.
• The Excellence in Urgent and Emergency Care Award: To the individual or team that has made improvements to how the NHS treats people in life or death situations.
• The Excellence in Primary Care and Community Care Award: As the needs of patients and the wider NHS evolves, so does the role of these professionals, and this award seeks to recognise practitioners and teams in primary or community care that are working with patients to help them stay healthy and avoid long stays in hospital or being admitted in the first place.
• The Future NHS Award: This award seeks to highlight individuals, teams and organisations that are successfully embracing the opportunities that come from advances in medical technology, data, and connectivity.
• The Health Equalities Award: This award is for an individual or organisation that has helped the NHS to do its bit by bringing together different groups and organisations to reduce health inequalities and prevent ill health in different communities.
• The Nursing and Midwifery Award: This award is for any nurse or midwife, that has used their skills to ensure that patients experience care and compassion. This award is also open to any one of the thousands of student midwives, nurses, allied health professionals and medical students who started their careers early to support the NHS’ response to coronavirus.
• The NHS Rising Star Award: This award looks to celebrate younger members of staff, volunteers or members of the public who give up their time, lend their experiences and deliver better services for themselves and others in their area.
• The Lifetime Achievement Award: This award is for an individual who has worked within a health or care setting for 40 years or more who has left a legacy.