Recognising Teams Improving Health & Care
Meaningful Improvements
Across the sector, people are finding better ways to support their workforce, strengthen patient safety and deliver care more effectively.
Recognising Practical Ideas
These awards highlight the practical ideas, collaborations and improvements helping services work better for staff and the people they support.
Celebrating Work
They bring together organisations across the NHS, private health and social care. Winning and shortlisted teams will be recognised at the Connected Health & Care Summit and across RLDatix channels.
Who should enter
The awards are open to teams and organisations across health and care, including:
- NHS organisations
- Private health and social care and social care providers
- Integrated Care Systems and partnerships
- Teams working in workforce, patient safety, quality, governance, operations or digital transformation
If your organisation has delivered a project that improved care, supported staff or strengthened how services run, we would encourage you to submit an entry.
What the judges look for
Entries are reviewed by an independent panel of leaders from across health and care. Judges are particularly interested in initiatives that demonstrate:
- Clear impact on care, workforce experience or operational performance
- Evidence of measurable improvement
- Learning that could be applied by other organisations
- Collaboration across teams, organisations or systems
Submissions for 2026 are now closed, shortlisted entries will be announced soon!
Award Categories
Learn more about the 2026 award categories.
Digital Solutions Empowering the Workforce
Recognising the use of digital tools to support the people delivering care, improving workforce experience, collaboration, retention and service delivery.
This award celebrates how technology helps teams work more effectively, communicate more easily, and deliver safe, coordinated care.
This category is for projects that have:
- Helped staff through better use of digital tools
- Improved communication, access to information, or visibility of work and responsibilities
- Supported teams to work more smoothly together. Enabled more flexible, coordinated, or autonomous ways of working
Delivering Safer Care
Celebrating work that helps make care safer, strengthens oversight, and improves the systems and behaviours that support safer care for the people we support and the teams delivering it.
This category is for projects that have:
- Reduced harm or risk through improved systems, oversight, or processes
- Supported better safety governance or organisational learning
- Used learning from incidents or feedback to improve care.
Transforming Workforce Wellbeing and Flexibility
Recognising initiatives that support workforce wellbeing, promote flexibility, and create better working environments for the people delivering care.
This category is for projects that have:
- Introduced or expanded workforce wellbeing initiatives
- Made work more flexible or manageable for teams
- Improved morale, retention, or work–life balance across teams
Collaborative Excellence in Working Together to Improve Care
Celebrating collaborative initiatives that improve care through partnership working across or within organisations, sectors, or communities.
This category is for projects that have:
- Strengthened collaboration between or within organisations or care settings
- Improved how care is coordinated for people
- Delivered measurable improvement through partnership or shared leadership
Driving Productivity and Operational Excellence
Recognising measurable improvements in operational performance through better planning, resource use, or service organisation.
This category is for projects that have:
- Improved how services are organised, staffed, or delivered
- Increased productivity through smarter planning or operational design
- Enabled teams to deliver more effective services with the same or fewer resources
Efficient and Impactful Care Delivery
Celebrating improvements that have redesigned services or workflows to deliver more efficient and impactful care.
This category is for projects that have:
- Simplified processes or ways of working
- Delivered measurable time or cost savings through improved efficiency
- Maintained or improved quality while streamlining how services are delivered
Learning and Improvement Through Reporting and Safety Insight
Recognising how organisations have strengthened safety culture through reporting, learning, and continuous improvement.
This category is for projects that have:
- Strengthened reporting, investigation, or learning processes
- Used reporting or safety data to inform improvement
- Embedded a culture of openness, reflection, and improvement
Improving Care Through Data and Insight
Celebrating the use of data and insight to drive better decisions, improve services, and strengthen outcomes.
This category is for projects that have:
- Used data to identify trends, risks, or opportunities
- Taken action based on what the data shows
- Strengthened planning or decision-making through better use of information
Legacy of Impact Award
Honouring long-term initiatives that have delivered sustained improvements in care, safety, or workforce experience.
This category is for projects that have:
- Delivered meaningful improvement over a number of years
- Shaped systems, practices, or workforce culture in lasting ways
- Created a legacy of safer, stronger, or more equitable care
Spotlight On Previous Winners
