Walsall Together is delighted to announce it has been shortlisted for a Place-based Partnership and Integrated Care Award, at the Health Service Journal Awards (HSJ), in recognition of its outstanding contribution to health and wellbeing across Walsall.
The partnership, which is made up of Walsall Healthcare NHS Trust, Walsall Council, Black Country Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, NHS Black Country Integrated Care Board, Primary Care Networks (General Practice), Housing (whg), Walsall Community Network, One Walsall and Healthwatch Walsall, was shortlisted, ahead of the official awards ceremony to be held later this year.
A ‘record-breaking’ 1456 entries have been received for this year’s awards, with 223 projects and individuals reaching the final shortlist, making it the biggest awards programme in the awards’ 43-year history.
The Place-based Partnership and Integrated Care Award recognises organisations which are working together with an aim of reducing health inequalities and improving outcomes through meaningful integration. Walsall Together’s model is based on national and international best practice, enhanced locally through the voice of citizens who are at the heart of what we do. The partnership has delivered significant results from hospital avoidance, discharge pathways (NHSE national pilot site), enhanced care homes support, workforce recruitment and retention and community resilience.
Michelle McManus, Director for Integrated Place Based Development, said: “We are absolutely over the moon to have been shortlisted for such a prestigious award in a year when competition was tough and there were so many entries for equally deserving partnerships.
“This is testament to all the hard work and dedication shown by our teams across multiple organisations including the voluntary and community sector. There have been many challenges faced during the last few years, exacerbated by the cost-of-living crisis and funding pressures on public services. As a partnership we are proud of our achievements to date to tackle these challenges and whatever the result on the night we are delighted to have been shortlisted and to have the opportunity to share our success with colleagues from across the entire sector, as well as showcasing everything we’ve learnt through implementing our partnership.”
HSJ editor Alastair McLellan, said: “It always gives me great pleasure to congratulate our finalists at this stage of the judging process and this year is no exception as we acknowledge for being shortlisted in the category of Place-based Partnership and Integrated Care.
“It’s been so encouraging to hear that 2023 has been record-breaking in terms of the number of applicants and, as ever, the calibre of entries left our panel of expert judges with some tough decisions to deliberate over.
“However, it’s always important to remember that the HSJ Awards are not just a celebration of success stories but also a platform to shape the future of the NHS.
“We can’t wait to welcome our finalists to the awards ceremony in November and to recognise and applaud such impressive achievements across the sector – as well as coming together to help mark the 75th birthday of our great NHS. Huge thanks also go to our new headline partner, Vodafone, who share our mission of driving the standard of healthcare excellence and creating better patient experiences.”
The selected winners will be announced during the awards ceremony at Evolution London on 16 November 2023.
The event will not only reflect the HSJ Awards’ enduring ethos of “sharing best practice, improving patient outcomes and innovating drivers of better service” but will also serve as a timely and well-deserved thank you to the sector during the 75th anniversary year of the NHS.
The 2023 awards judging panel was once again made up of a diverse range of highly influential and respected figures within the healthcare community, including; Crystal Oldman, Chief Executive, Queen’s Nursing Institute; Dr Habib Naqvi MBE, Chief Executive, NHS Race and Health Observatory; Anne-Marie Vine-Lott, Director of Health, Vodafone; Sir Jim Mackey, National Director of Elective Recovery, NHS England, as well as a range of esteemed Chief Executives from NHS Trusts across the UK.
