NHS heroes recognised after accelerating cancer diagnosis and transforming patient care

‘Groundbreaking’ NHS teams that have freed up thousands of hospital beds, accelerated cancer diagnosis, and transformed care for patients have been recognised at the inaugural 2026 NHS Excellence Awards.

Held today at NHS ConfedExpo in Manchester, the awards celebrated some of the most innovative and impactful healthcare initiatives from across England, showcasing how frontline staff are delivering better outcomes for patients while helping the NHS meet growing demand.

This year’s winners include a new virtual ward from the Medway Foundation Trust, which freed up nearly 5,000 beds while maintaining low readmission rates.

While the Marie Curie Responsive Emergency Assessment and Community Team (REACT) in Bradford has pioneered a new approach to palliative and end-of-life care which has included additional preventative support – so more patients spent time at home, rather than needing to be in hospital.

The 2026 NHS Excellence Awards were delivered in partnership with Pfizer, and featured senior NHS leaders among the attendees, including NHS England Chief Executive Officer Sir Jim Mackey, Chief Nursing Officer Duncan Burton, who hosted the ceremony, and NHS England Chair Penny Dash.

Sir Jim Mackey, Chief Executive Officer at NHS England, said: “The NHS is crammed with really talented people doing fantastic things every day and we’ve been overwhelmed by thousands of examples of excellence, innovation and determination through these awards.

“The projects recognised today have delivered genuinely remarkable results,  freeing up thousands of hospital beds for those that need them most, help spot cancers earlier, and improved care for some of the most vulnerable people in our communities – I would like to congratulate every winner and nominee for their outstanding contribution.”

The following awards were given at the ceremony in Manchester Central Convention Complex:

• Delivering value award: The Medway NHS Foundation Trust won for their SMART Acute Virtual Hospital, which has delivered almost 5,000 beds saved and created capacity equivalent to 54 inpatient beds.
• Digital innovation award: A new NHS 111 self-referral tool for breast cancer from Somerset FT has created a safe “digital front door” for diagnostics for the over 2,000 people who used it, helping identify 51 cases of cancer.
• Improving health outcomes award: Northamptonshire FT delivered the East Midlands CAMHS Collaborative, which addresses the pressing health and economic challenges of the growing prevalence of poor mental health in younger people.
• Leadership award: As part of a drive to improve neighbourhood health services, Dr Jess Harvey’s unique style of leadership has helped to create an exemplary service within the Midlands region.
• Neighbourhood health award: The Liverpool Place Population Management stood out as a mature system-wide model to deliver better care. As part of this, they use data to identify patients at risk and provide full wrap-around preventative care, which has led to 36% fewer emergency admissions and 28% fewer A&E attendances.
• Patient involvement and choice award: South East London ICB Women’s and Girls’ Health Hub has demonstrated effective and meaningful involvement practice with both women and members of the VCSE, working collaboratively to improve women’s health services.
• Quality improvement award: Holderness Health’s Gold Team Approach to Improving Palliative and End of Life Care in General Practice combined practical innovation, such as the rapid‑access Gold Line, with stronger identification, proactive care planning and effective multi‑agency working to deliver tangible improvements for patients, carers and staff.
• Sustainable healthcare award: North West London Sleep Medicine Services & Imperial Health Impact Lab increased diagnostic speed, financial sustainability, patient equity, and workforce productivity. Key to this was the use of AI-enabled technology to redesign the diagnostic pathway itself.
• Valuing our people award: North East and North Cumbria Staff Mental Health and Wellbeing Hub stood out for its work on wellbeing, which was intensely collaborative and was accessible to all team members, including social care and VCSE colleagues.
• Working in partnership award: The Marie Curie Responsive Emergency Assessment and Community Team (REACT) has delivered a pioneering approach to urgent, palliative and end-of-life care. It transformed support for patients in the last year of life by combining NHS expertise with the agility and reach of the voluntary and social enterprise sector. Outcomes were exceptional, including reduced emergency admissions and over 20,000 hospital bed days saved.