Excellence Awards

Have you, your friend or family members received excellent care from a colleague or team at UHN? This is your chance to tell us about the people who have made a difference to you or your loved one through the thought or care they have given.

Judges will be looking for individuals or teams for whom nothing is too much trouble, provide consistently great care or service, treat others with kindness and respect, and are a notable example to others.

We are looking for examples of:

• If you received high-quality care from our compassionate, excellent, and dedicated team members who went above and beyond to care for you.
• If someone made you feel listened to, well cared for and who showed kindness and respect.
• To celebrate those people who ‘just do their job’ or who have done something to make the experience of being in or visiting the hospital a bit easier.

Recognising a team or individual who has implemented new research, an innovative idea or an improvement project which has resulted in improved practice, better outcomes, or a more efficient way of working. 

They may have been involved with clinical or research trials, introduced a new approach to their area or taken part in an innovative improvement project to make our hospitals a better place for patients, visitors, and colleagues.

We are looking for examples of: 

• How they've helped to implement a improvement, championed and supported patients or colleagues through research studies or they've found a solution to a problem to make things better.
• Involvement of a diverse range of service users, colleagues, or stakeholders.
• Evidence of the difference made from implementing these projects or ideas.
• Provide details, where applicable, that they have promoted and valued inclusivity and diversity.

We want to know who has gone over and above to support patients or their loved ones during challenging times or who have made a memorable difference to a patient’s experience. This award recognises individuals improving experience in either a patient-facing or support role.

We are looking for examples of:

• How they have gone the extra mile to improve a patient’s experience.
• How they have made a memorable difference to patients or their loved ones.
• Provide details, where applicable, that they have promoted and valued inclusivity and diversity.

An individual or team who puts patient safety at the heart of everything they do. They speak up when they have concerns, take an evidence-based approach to identify where things could be improved and have the courage to introduce improvements in quality of care and culture.

We are looking for examples of:

• How they listen to and act on patient feedback to improve safety.
• How they have introduced safety improvements and/or improved safety culture.
• Provide details, where applicable, that they have promoted and valued inclusivity and diversity.

Celebrating those individuals and teams who have made a difference and supported or raised funds in aid of Northamptonshire Health Charity.

These are people who have helped by raising the profile of a specific event, fundraising campaign, or increased awareness of the Northamptonshire Health Charity.

We are looking for examples of:

• People who champion and recognize the value of Northamptonshire Health Charity.
• Those who have supported, fundraised, or done something incredible for the charity to make UHN a better place for patients or colleagues.

We want to celebrate the contribution made by the hundreds of people who give their time for free. From those who volunteer across our hospitals, including radio stations, ward volunteers, meeting and greeting patients or visitors, buggy drivers and staff wellbeing across UHN.

We are looking for examples of:

• A volunteer who goes above and beyond to brighten the lives of patients and visitors, carers but also our colleagues.
• Volunteers who have a positive impact on delivering services and those little extra touches that couldn’t be provided without their support- for example our buggy or brew buddy initiative.

Many colleagues make a huge contribution every day but may not always be seen.

All colleagues are critical to delivering healthcare services and ensuring patients can access the services they need.  Whether they are looking after our buildings and facilities, staffing our reception areas, keeping our supplies well stocked, making sure our processes and clinics run smoothly, transporting patients, providing fresh food or keeping our hospital clean, everyone plays a role.

We are looking for examples of:

• An individual who goes above and beyond to consistently play their part to improve the hospital.
• An individual who has done something extraordinary to make a difference to UHN.
• An individual who has been a true inspiration to others and who you see as a hospital hero.

Many teams make a huge contribution every day. This award celebrates a team who have led the way across UHN – this could be setting an example of how to work collaboratively as a cohesive team, consistently achieving excellent operational performance or overcoming a number of challenges to still provide an excellent experience for patient.

We are looking for examples of:

• Teams working well together to develop themselves as role models and to provide the best care for patients or supporting colleagues.
• Tell us about the impact they have had.
• How they respect other people’s views, experiences, and skills with a commitment to the team’s health and wellbeing and professional or personal development.
• Provide details, where applicable, that they have promoted and valued inclusivity and diversity.

The Rising Star Award aims to recognise individuals who have contributed to the NHS for less than five years but is already making a significant difference to services and/or the lives of the people we serve.

We are looking for examples of:

• Using their own experience to bring about meaningful improvements in services for patients and colleagues.
• Making a meaningful and impactful change in their NHS career so far.
• How they are continuously learning and developing in their career.
• Provide details, where applicable, that they have promoted and valued inclusivity and diversity.

An individual or team that consistently demonstrates and promotes a culture of compassion, who promote equality, diversity and inclusion for service users, staff or the community.

We are looking for examples of:

• Championing inclusion to enable all to achieve their potential.
• Enhancing care or raising the profile of inclusion for service users and/or colleagues through a sustained and passionate commitment to inclusion.
• Developing new services for groups that may not access NHS services as easily as others.
• Positive and proactive initiatives to recognise and address the differing experiences of our diverse workforce and being confident to challenge anything we could improve.

Recognising an inspiring and outstanding leader who has demonstrated the ability to lead a team effectively and has a relentless focus on improving UHN as both a place to work and a place to receive care. This leader could work in a patient-facing or support area and will always be focussed on helping the organisation achieve its goals.

We are looking for examples of:

• People who lead and inspire others to improve their service for the benefit of patients and colleagues.
• Working towards our shared vision, aims and demonstrating our core values in everything they do.
• Provide details, where applicable, that they have promoted and valued inclusivity and diversity.

This category is not open for public nominations.

The Outstanding Contribution award goes to someone who has delivered or demonstrated an outstanding contribution to our hospitals. They will have shown outstanding dedication and invaluable support to our patients and colleagues. They will be someone who deserves to be recognised for the role they play in UHN.

We are looking for examples of:

• How this person has consistently gone the extra mile in their role and provided inspiration to colleagues and patients.
• Been a positive role model and contributed to ongoing improvements at UHN.
• Embodies UHN’s values and is dedicated to excellence
• Provide details, where applicable, that they have promoted and valued inclusivity and diversity.