The NHS Parliamentary Awards are designed to celebrate the work of all NHS staff and those who work alongside them to improve and join up care in their communities.
We are looking for outstanding nominees who have innovated, impressed, and made a real difference to how the health and care system provides care for patients. Nominees could be an individual, a team, or an entire organisation.
Nominees don’t have to be working within the NHS – these awards are for anyone working for or with the NHS towards the shared goal of delivering health and high-quality care, now and for future generations. Neither do they have to be in frontline or clinical roles. Around 60% of the NHS workforce perform vital but often-unseen roles, ensuring that the NHS is equipped to meet the needs of patients. Many more people support patients in other ways, such as via their local Healthwatch, social enterprises or charities.
Nominations opened on Monday 6th March and closed at midday on Tuesday 2nd May 2023.
The Excellence in Healthcare Award
The Excellence in Mental Health Care Award

This could be through:
- developing new and effective kinds of services for those experiencing or at risk of crisis;
- working with local partners to put in place effective prevention strategies that promote better mental health;
- working with their communities to address stigma and help design services for those who are hardest to reach, reducing health inequalities;
- engaging effectively with young people who have needed mental health support during the pandemic.
The Excellence in Urgent and Emergency Care Award
This award seeks to celebrate the amazing work of our emergency care services across the country whether that’s A&E doctors and nurses, Ambulance Service paramedics and technicians, out-of-hours GPs or the 999 and 111 teams who take calls from worried members of the public. We are looking specifically for nominees who have made improvements to how the NHS treats people who need urgent care in their areas.
This could be through:
- developing new protocols, including working with other agencies and/or volunteers to improve response times or increase capacity in A&E;
- increasing the effectiveness of care;
- putting in place different services which are more convenient for people needing urgent treatment.
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 their 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.
This could be through:
- bringing in different kinds of professionals and/or working with voluntary groups to broaden the range of services in their local practice or area;
- working closely with colleagues in hospitals and the third sector to plan patient care better;
- joining together with other practises to jointly deliver more convenient appointments for patients;
- delivering enhanced health in care homes to ensure residents have the same level of support as if they were living in their own home.
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.
This could be through:
- developing ways of using wearable devices and apps to monitor patients or support them to manage their own conditions;
- harnessing technology to make their services more connected, efficient and effective, freeing up staff time and resources to improve patient care;
- using data to provide analysis and evidence which helps professionals better target services to prevent ill health or the need for crisis care.
The Health Equalities Award
This award is for an individual or organisation that helps the NHS to do its bit by bringing together different groups and organisations to reduce health inequalities and prevent ill health in their community.
This could be through:
- developing new services for groups that traditionally struggle to access the NHS;
- working with partners to plan services across an area to improve the health and wellbeing of those who suffer poorer outcomes – rather than picking up the pieces afterwards;
- finding new ways to identify and tackle unwarranted variation;
- using data to reduce health inequalities.
The Nursing and Midwifery Award
This award is for any nurse or midwife who 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 and nurses who started their careers early to support the NHS’ response to coronavirus.
This could be through:
- providing excellent clinical care to patients;
- changing how healthcare staff communicate with patients and their families;
- driving improvements to hospital environments, or maternity wards, to make them more pleasant places for patients and their loved ones;
- identifying ways that trusts can address health inequalities in maternity care to ensure better outcomes for patients;
- ensuring that patients and their families are well-informed and empowered to play an active role in deciding what type of care they receive;
- guiding patients and families through important conversations around vaccination and improving access for pregnant women to get the COVID jab.
The Volunteer Award
This award is for an individual, team or organisation that has supported local health and care services.
This could be through:
- Providing additional support and advice to patients
- Helping to ensure people have as high a quality of life as possible
- Helping to keep people healthy and well
- Helping to reduce inequalities
- Helping staff working in health and care
The NHS Rising Star Award

- providing critical but constructive feedback on performance;
- donating their time and expertise to the NHS;
- augmenting the NHS’ ability to reach out to different communities;
- fundraising for new or improved facilities or treatment options.
The Lifetime Achievement Award
This award seeks to honour those who have given their life to the NHS and have left it – whether just in their area or nationally – a better service for patients and/or a better place to work for those who will follow them. We are looking for someone who has worked or volunteered within or in support of a health or care setting for 40 years or more, and who has left a lasting legacy. This award is also open to any of the thousands former NHS workers across the country who have come out of retirement to tackle the coronavirus outbreak.
This could be through:
- championing diversity and inclusion at work in how the NHS treats patients;
- leading improvements in care or working conditions in challenging circumstances;
- simply bringing a smile to patients’ faces day in, day out.