Going The Extra Mile - NHS Champions Awards 2008, UK

Main Category: Public Health
Article Date: 02 Sep 2008 - 4:00 PDT

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The NHS is 60 this year and to mark the amazing care given by London's health care staff, The King's Fund, in association with the Evening Standard and NHS London, is launching an award to find NHS Champions - individuals who go the extra mile to provide exceptional care.

Every nominee will be recognised and thanked with a certificate of outstanding achievement from the Evening Standard, NHS London and The King's Fund. Finalists will take part in a prestigious awards ceremony in December where they will meet the celebrity judges - BBC news presenter George Alagiah and Martha Lane Fox, e-business woman and charity trustee, as well as Bruce Keogh, NHS Medical Director and Jacqueline Docherty, Director of Nursing at King's College Hospital in south London.

Today (2 September) the NHS Champions awards website goes live at http://www.nhschampions.org.uk. Members of the public and NHS staff can nominate anyone working for the NHS who they think deserves special recognition - staff who have gone the extra mile to provide exceptional care to their patients over the last two years. An NHS Champion could be a doctor, dentist, nurse, midwife, therapist, porter, health care assistant, paramedic, manager or administrator - there are six award categories that cover just about everyone working for the NHS in London.

Launching NHS Champions today, The King's Fund's Chief Executive Niall Dickson said: 'This is a great opportunity for patients to say thank you to NHS staff in London. Every day there are examples of exceptional care and this is a wonderful way of recognising those who make such an outstanding contribution. All political parties talk about the need for public services to become more responsive, individualised and "personalised" and I think these awards will reveal the very best examples of that aspiration in London'.

NHS London chief executive Ruth Carnall said: 'This is an exciting and challenging time for the NHS, and the NHS Champions awards are very much part of that. They will throw the spotlight on how we are unlocking the talents of staff across the service, improving quality and innovation in health care for all Londoners.'

Notes

To make nominations for the NHS Champions awards 2008, go to http://www.nhschampions.org.uk/ from Tuesday 2 September 2008 through to Thursday 16 October 2008 when the nominations close. Judging takes place in early November and the awards ceremony is in early December. The judging panel includes:

- George Alagiah OBE, BBC presenter
- Martha Lane Fox, e-business woman and charity trustee
- Niall Dickson, Chief Executive, The King's Fund
- Veronica Wadley, Editor, Evening Standard
- Ruth Carnall CBE, Chief Executive, NHS London
- Professor Sir Bruce Keogh, NHS Medical Director
- Dame Jacqueline Docherty, Director of Nursing at King's College Hospital

The King's Fund is an independent charitable foundation working for better health, especially in London. We carry out research, policy analysis and development activities, working on our own, in partnerships, and through funding. We are a major resource to people working in health and social care, offering leadership development programmes; seminars and workshops; publications; information and library services; and conference and meeting facilities.

NHS London is the Strategic Health Authority for the Greater London Area. It has overall responsibility for the performance of 31 primary care trusts (PCTs), 24 acute trusts, three mental health trusts and the London Ambulance Service.

The King's Fund