I have nominated local health and care workers for national awards to mark the 70th birthday of the NHS.
I am so proud of our local NHS and care services, and I’m delighted to be taking part in the NHS70 Parliamentary Awards as a way of thanking and recognising the people who work in or support those services
The NHS70 Parliamentary Awards, sponsored by IBM, was set up to recognise the massive contribution made by the individuals who work in and alongside the NHS.
I can now reveal that I have chosen to back:
- Ms Hollie Watts, a Macmillan head and neck clinical nurse specialist at Northampton General Hospital for The Person-Centred Care Champion Award
- Mrs Liz Summers, Lead Cancer Nurse at Northampton General Hospital for The Excellence in Cancer Care Award
- Dr Melanie Blake's Stroke Team at Northampton General Hospital for The Care and Compassion Award
I wish all of them the best of luck.
Nominees put forward by MPs across England will initially be judged by senior local and regional NHS experts to find regional champions in each category, which will be announced on May 21st.
These regional champions will then be judged by a high-level panel, with the overall winners announced at a special awards ceremony in Parliament on Wednesday 4 July – the day before the NHS’s 70th birthday.
The NHS70 Parliamentary Awards is part of a range of activities being organised nationally and locally to mark the achievements of the NHS and those who work for and with it.
These range from ceremonies for NHS staff in Westminster Abbey and York Minster, the special 10p NHS coin released recently by The Royal Mint and new resources for schools to engage children and young people to think about a career in the NHS, to local open days, exhibitions and other events being staged by hospitals and other health organisations.