Two projects put forward by the Bradford District and Craven Health and Care Partnership have made the shortlist for this year’s NHS Parliamentary Awards, to mark the NHS’s 74th birthday, after taking home the regional prize for North East and Yorkshire.
The local projects demonstrate the core ethos of the Bradford District and Craven Health and Care Partnership’s ‘Act as One’ way of working. Both the projects involve teams made up of professionals from a range of backgrounds and organisations.
The Bradford district and Craven multi-agency support team (MAST) has been shortlisted for the Excellence in Urgent and Emergency Care Award.
MAST comprises of three VCS organisations working in partnership, each bringing expertise in their own specialist area. The MAST team work within our acute and community settings, aiming to reduce the pressure experienced by emergency departments by providing specialist support to individuals who present with a variety of non-urgent health or care needs.
The Modality Community Health Partnership, a group of GP practices working together as a primary care network, has been nominated in the Health Equalities category. The work led by Bill Graham, the Health Equalities Lead for Modality, recognises the outreach work that links in with a number of voluntary and community sector organisations in Keighley.
The Modality Partnership, driven on by Bill, has delivered health checks, flu and covid vaccinations to marginalised communities within Keighley, in community based settings, places of worship and civic centres at the heart of the local community. This community centred approach has meant health interventions being delivered to a broad range of people including ethnically diverse populations. vulnerable people and those with a learning disability.
Mel Pickup, Place Based Lead for the Bradford District and Craven Health and Care Partnership and Chief Executive for Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, said:
“We are thrilled to see two of our partnership’s projects shortlisted for the national final. It is a fabulous recognition of the work they’ve done to support some of our most vulnerable communities and they have deservedly taken home the regional honours. We will now keep our fingers crossed on 6 July.”
Bill Graham, Health Equalities Lead for Modality Partnership, added:
“We are committed to working with our communities and investing in new ways to offer patients fair and equitable access to healthcare. We want to give everyone the health care they deserve and need. This award is great recognition for the team and the tremendous results we have already achieved. Hopefully this will spur other healthcare providers and communities to work together to provide accessible community health clinics for all.“
Kim Shutler, Chief Executive for The Cellar Trust (one of the partner agencies for MAST), commented:
“Our innovative approach to supporting people with what some people may describe as non-urgent or non-medical health and care needs is really making a change to people’s lives. In addition, it is helping to address some of the pressures that our busy NHS accident and emergency departments experience on a daily basis. This award reflects the hard work of all our teams and shows how we can achieve great things when we work together – in other words ‘Act as One’.”
Over 700 nominations were submitted to the national awards, more than last year, with half of MPs representing constituencies in England doing so.
The NHS Parliamentary Awards recognise the massive contribution made by the individuals who work in and alongside the NHS. Launched in March, it asked MPs to find and nominate those individuals or teams they thought have made the biggest improvements to health services in their constituencies, across 10 categories.
All of the regional winners will be invited to the national awards ceremony, which will be held on 6 July in Westminster, a day after the NHS’s 74 birthday.