UK awards launched to recognise healthcare support staff

Healthcare assistants and other support staff are to be recognised with UK-wide awards launched today.

Skills for Health and the National Skills Academy for Health have created the Our Health Heroes awards to celebrate the role of the support workforce in delivering patient care in the NHS and other healthcare settings.

A clinical support worker of the year award and an operational services worker of the year award are open to staff including assistant practitioners, porters, cleaners and caterers. 

Contribution and value

Skills for Health chief executive John Rogers said: ‘Clinical support workers and operational service staff play critical roles, ensuring that hospital and healthcare practices around the UK are running efficiently and effectively, yet their contributions often go unnoticed.

‘Our research has shown it is only by understanding the contribution and value of the support worker role that the health sector will be able to realise its potential in terms of productivity and efficiency.

‘We want to recognise and reward those who contribute to the UK’s health sector and celebrate best practice to ensure patients receive the best quality of care.’

#OurHealthHeroes

The awards follow the #OurHealthHeroes social media campaign, launched by Skills for Health in February, which encouraged people to share stories about support workers making a difference. 

The awards tie in with Unison’s One Team campaign, recognising teamwork in the NHS.

Entrants can be nominated by their line manager, supervisor, colleague or Unison branch.

Public vote

Two finalists from each of Unison’s 12 UK regions will go forward to a public vote to decide the overall winners.

Unison head of health Christina McAnea said: ‘We hope that there will be lots of award entries so we can celebrate the amazing work of clinical support and operational services staff, which often goes way above and beyond their roles.’

Deadline and further details

The deadline for entries is 23 September. 

The winners will be announced at a ceremony at Unison’s London headquarters on 29 November. 

For more details, go to Our Health Heroes Awards