NHS Excellence Awards FAQs

Who organises the NHS Excellence awards?

NHS England is running the NHS Excellence Awards to recognise, celebrate and share innovative work driving improvements across health and care. They are working in partnership with the NHS Confederation who is delivering on both commercial and logistical aspects of the awards.

How are the awards funded?

The NHS Excellence Awards are being delivered at no cost to the NHS.  NHS England is working in partnership with the NHS Confederation to secure sponsorship for the awards to cover the costs.

Who can enter the NHS Excellence Awards?

The awards are open to:

• NHS Integrated Care Boards (ICBs)
• NHS trusts
• primary care providers
• local authorities
• voluntary and community sector organisations
• social enterprises
• other providers working in partnership with an NHS organisation to deliver local health and care services in England.
• national organisations, provided their entry focuses on work delivered in a local area, or in the case of the Leadership award, an individual working at a local level. 

Entries may be submitted by a team, or an individual on behalf of an organisation, team or project.

Entries about collaborative projects involving more than one organisation can be submitted, but one organisation must take the lead on submitting the entry.

The same team or project cannot be entered in more than one category.

Individuals may not nominate themselves for the leadership award category.

Can private sector/commercial organisations enter the NHS Excellence Awards?

Yes, providing their entry is about an individual (in the case of the Leadership award), team or project working in partnership with an NHS organisation to deliver local health and care services in England.

Can the same organisation enter more than one category?

Yes.  However, the same team or project cannot be entered in more than one category.

Can the same organisation submit more than one entry in each category?

Yes.  However, the same team or project cannot be entered in more than one category.

What information is asked for on the awards entry form?

You’ll be asked to provide the following:

• The name, job title and contact details of the person submitting the entry
• The name, job title and email address of the senior lead within your organisation who has approved/supports the award entry
• The name, address and type of organisation submitting the entry.  Non-NHS organisations will need to state which NHS organisation/s they are working in partnership with to deliver local health and care services
• The name of the individual (in the case of the Leadership award), team or project the entry is about
• The award category being entered

For all categories except the Leadership award, you will be asked to answer the following 3 questions about the team or project (maximum of 2,000 characters including spaces for each)

• What has been done? Please describe the work delivered by your organisation, team or project, explaining how it is relevant to this award category, why the work was needed, what approach was taken, and what was delivered.
• What was the impact? Please explain what benefits or improvements the work has delivered and what the measurable impact has been for patients, communities and/or staff.
• What happens next? Please describe how this work has been or can be sustained and/or developed further locally and how it could be scaled or adopted more widely to benefit more patients, communities and/or staff

For the Leadership award category, you will be asked to answer the following 3 questions about the individual (maximum of 2,000 characters including spaces for each)

• What have they done?  What inspired you to nominate the individual for the leadership award?  Please give examples which demonstrate their exceptional leadership.
• What was the impact?  Please explain what positive, measurable impact their leadership has had on patients, communities and/or staff.
• How have they demonstrated the NHS values? Please describe how the individual has brought to life the values of your organisation and/or the NHS (as set out in the NHS Constitution). In answering this question, please ensure that the examples cover ways in which the individual’s leadership has helped create a more inclusive NHS for patients, communities and/or staff.

Can entrants supply extra information as appendices, links?

No. To ensure all entries are assessed in a consistent manner, they must all use the same format.  We may ask regional champions for further information after they have been announced for promotional use, but this will not be used as part of the judging process.

What is the deadline for entries?

The deadline for entries is 5pm on Friday 6 March 2026.

Does it cost anything to enter the awards?

No - entrants will not be charged.  Tickets for the awards ceremony will also be free for all regional champions.  Regional champions who aren’t already eligible for a free ticket to NHS ConfedExpo 2026 will also receive an allocation of free passes for the conference.

What is the judging process?

All valid entries will initially go forward to the relevant regional judging panel.  These regional panels will each select a regional champion in each category.

The regional champions will then form the shortlist from which a national winner will be selected for each category. 

Winners will be announced at the awards ceremony at NHS ConfedExpo on 10 June 2026.

When will regional champions be notified?

Regional champions will be notified in mid-April 2026.

When will the NHS Excellence Awards ceremony take place?

Regional champions will be invited to an awards ceremony that will take place on the evening of the first day of NHS ConfedExpo, Wednesday, 10 June 2026, at Manchester Central.

Who do I contact for more information?

To discuss sponsorship opportunities please contact: supporters@nhsconfed.org or call 0844 800 5989