Award category criteria, rules and process

Each nomination must comply with criteria specific to the submission category. Judges will be looking for examples of how nominees have gone above and beyond their duties to deliver our vision: creating high quality, compassionate care and wellbeing for all; reflecting our values of compassion, trust, respect and integrity and our Leadership Behaviours for All.

The work undertaken should have taken place between May 2023 and May 2024.

Team of the Year Award

Nominated by staff for a team. Open to clinical and non-clinical teams or project-specific teams.

This award recognises teams who work flexibly and collaboratively, with a ‘can do’ approach to overcoming barriers, delivering continuous improvements for patients, service users and/or staff.

Assessors will be looking for:

• Clarity of shared vision, values, aims and approach to achieving success
• A commitment to the team’s health and wellbeing and how they display this in line with our leadership behaviours
• Evidence of involving their service users
• Illustrations of how the team works together to overcome boundaries for making continuous improvements
• Examples of innovation by the team.

 

Delivering Exceptional Care Award*

Nominated by staff or the public for an individual.

Awarded to a team or individual who has delivered exceptional care by showing:

• Exceptional dedication to the care of their patients or service users
• Outstanding commitment to the NHS and our Trust vision, values and leadership behaviours
• Evidence of involving their service users
• A commitment to continuous service improvement
• Evidence of measurable improvement as a result of exemplary quality of care.

 

Excellence in Enabling Services Award

Nominated by staff for an individual. Open to non-clinical staff only.

This award recognises the work undertaken by our enabling services to support the Trust to deliver high quality care.

Assessors will be looking for evidence of:

• Clarity of shared vision, values, aims and approach to achieve success that is line with LPT’s values and leadership behaviours
• A commitment to continuous service improvement and innovation, in partnership with service users or staff
• Evidence of measurable improvement as a result of a project or initiative.

 

Excellence in Research Award

Nominated by staff for a team or an individual.

This award recognises individuals who have driven the use of research for improvements, undertaken exemplary research or exceeded expectations around involving patients, services users and/or staff in research studies.

Assessors will be looking for:

• Outstanding commitment to research and evidence of its impact on improving quality of care
• Involvement of a diverse range of service users, staff or stakeholders in contributing to and/or implementing the research activity for an improved service experience
• Evidence of how the research activity was implemented and shared more widely.

 

Excellence in Leadership Award

Nominated by staff for an individual.

This award recognises exemplary inclusive, compassionate leadership that demonstrates a positive and sustained impact on patients, service users, carers and staff.

Assessors will be looking specifically for:

• Clear evidence of inclusive, compassionate leadership in line with our leadership behaviours for all
• Evidence of having motivated others and engaged them in a shared vision, values, aims and approach to continuous improvement – creating a high performing team
• Effective partnership working to enhance the quality of experience for patients, service users, carers and staff.
   

Excellence in Quality Improvement or Innovation Award

Nominated by staff for an individual or team.

This award recognises an outstanding commitment to quality improvement and innovation, that has resulted in measurable benefits for LPT’s patients, service users and/or staff.

Assessors will be looking for:

• An outstanding commitment to continuous quality improvement and/or innovation. Evidence of results and how it has improved care, experience and efficiency
• An innovative approach to improving the quality of service delivery and evidence of positive influence for change, learning and sharing
• Evidence of partnership working and/or involvement of service users and staff.

 

Learner of the Year Award

Nominated by staff for an individual (nominate trainees, students, apprentices and other learners).

This award recognises a commitment to personal and professional development, utilising the knowledge and skills gained through undertaking learning programmes for the benefit of services and/or patient care.

Assessors will be looking for:

• Utilising learning for quality improvement within their practice
• Sharing of knowledge and learning with others
• Positive evaluation or feedback from supervisors, patients or other students/trainees.

 

Valuing Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Award

Nominated by staff for a team or an individual.

This award recognises those who demonstrate an outstanding commitment to valuing and promoting equality, diversity and inclusion for service users and/or staff.

Assessors will be looking for evidence of one or more of these:

• Courage to challenge inappropriate or discriminatory behaviours
• Innovative, inclusive approaches to developing our services or improving access to services, focusing on the specific needs of at least one of the following: age, gender, race, religion and belief, sexual orientation, disability, marriage and civil partnerships, pregnancy and maternity or transgender
• Positive and proactive initiatives to recognise and address the differing experiences of our diverse workforce, championing inclusion to enable all to achieve their potential, free from discrimination or prejudice.

 

Volunteer(s) of the Year Award*

Nominated by staff or public for a volunteer individual or team.

Awarded to an individual volunteer or team of volunteers who volunteer for LPT and have made an outstanding contribution to helping LPT go above and beyond.

Assessors will be looking for evidence that:

• They have given up their time, unpaid, to bring measurable benefits to LPT patients, service users, carers and/or staff
• The individual or team has shown exceptional dedication to volunteering with LPT and has made a difference
• They demonstrate an outstanding commitment to the NHS and our values.

 

Unsung Hero of the Year Award*

Nominated by staff or public for an individual. Open to clinical and non-clinical staff.

Selected by the Chair and Chief Executive of the Trust, this award recognises an individual for their exceptional practice or contribution to LPT.

• Exceptional dedication to providing the best quality care or services – regardless of role or grade (can be clinical or non-clinical)
• Outstanding commitment to the NHS and our values of compassion, respect, integrity and trust
• Significant contribution to helping our services to step up to great.

 

Excellence in Partnerships Award

Nominated by staff for a team of LPT staff working with external partners and/or across the system.

This award recognises work to develop integrated, person-centred services through multi-agency working/ partnership arrangements with local agencies, voluntary organisations and community groups which has brought about positive outcomes.

Assessors will be looking for some evidence of:

• Shared vision, values and collective leadership across all teams involved
• Involvement of service users and/or carers to continuously improve
• A creative approach to developing integrated person-centred services across the system
• Clear evidence of their impact for population health and wellbeing.

 

Excellence in Patient or Service User Involvement Award*

Nominated by staff or service users for an individual, project or team.

This award recognises teams, patient and staff collaborations or projects that have used innovative or outstanding practice to involve patients, service users or carers in continuously improving their services.

Assessors will be looking for:

• Evidence of how gathering patient/service user feedback is embedded into practice and acted upon for continuous service improvements
• Evidence from patients that their feedback has been acted upon
• Evidence of improvements made to services as a result of involvement and/or co-design, and ongoing monitoring of these improvements
• Evidence of how this learning is being shared across the Trust.

 

Group Excellence Award

Nominated by staff across LPT/NHFT Group for any collaboration involving an LPT individual or team.

This annual award is to celebrate teams, projects or initiatives from across the Leicestershire Partnership and Northamptonshire Healthcare Associate University Group. The winner will have demonstrated excellent collaboration, shared learning and best practice, which has improved the outcomes for patients and service users.

They will be able to evidence how, by connecting across the Group (between LPT and NHFT), they have created better solutions and services for our patients and colleagues.

 

Who can nominate?

LPT staff can nominate colleagues employed by LPT for all categories.

We welcome nominations from the public within the following categories:

• Delivering Exceptional Care Award
• Volunteer of the Year Award
• Unsung Hero of the Year Award
• Excellence in Patient or Service User Involvement Award

We welcome nominations from other organisations for the following:

• Excellence in Partnership Award
• Group Excellence Award

 

The rules

Applications for the Celebrating Excellence Awards 2024 are subject to the following rules (please read these carefully before proceeding to the nomination form):

• Nominations for the Celebrating Excellence Awards recognise LPT staff, students and volunteers.
• Nominations are submitted via the online form found at leicspart.nhs.uk/awards by the closing date of 13 May 2023 (5pm). The nomination form can also be downloaded from the same webpage and emailed to lpt.communications@nhs.net or posted to: Celebrating Excellence Awards 2023, Communications Team, Leicestershire Partnership NHS Trust, Unit 2, Bridge Park Plaza, Bridge Park Road, Thurmaston,  LE4 8PQ
• The work included in the nomination must have been undertaken at least in part between May 2023 to April 2024.
• LPT bank staff can be nominated if their work was undertaken between the above dates and they will still be working for LPT on 13 May 2024.
• Please inform nominees that you are making a nomination and check that they would be happy for their nomination and outcome to be publicised. This might involve articles in the local media and social media posts.
• Wherever possible, photographs of nominees should be supplied with nomination forms for use in publicity. This is not an essential requirement at this stage. Photographs should be supplied in jpg format.
• Entries must adhere with the strict word limit of 250 words as specified on the form. Any wording over and above the word limit will be cut off and NOT considered by the shortlisting and judging panels.
• Do not use jargon or abbreviations in the nomination form as panel members will vary in experience of the NHS.
• Entries cannot be amended or accepted after the entry deadline has passed.
• The same entry may not be submitted for more than one category. Please ensure you are nominating in line with the criteria for the award you are submitting to.
• If the awards’ organising team determine an entry submitted for one category is of greater relevance to another category, they might re-categorise that entry.
• The awards’ organising team reserves the right to withdraw incomplete entries as well as those which are considered inappropriate as a result of ethical or factual issues.
• All nominees who are shortlisted must supply a photograph (if not already supplied by the nominator) for use at the awards ceremony.
• The nominators of shortlisted nominations must be available for filming at one of the indicated dates on the nomination form. Films are shown at the awards ceremony and on social media.
• The contact details contained in entries will not be shared outside LPT, unless permission is granted by the nominator and nominated individual or team. They are for the specific purposes of arrangements for the awards.
• Details of nominations may be publicised in the local media with the consent of the individual or team nominated, including films and photos – please indicate on the form if this is not acceptable.
• Details of all winners will be provided to the local media along with photographs taken at the awards ceremony.
• Finalists and winners will be expected to help others learn from their work throughout the year. They will be provided with an e-signature.
• All nominations are judged by a panel of judges (except for the Unsung Hero Award which is selected by the Trust chair and chief executive).
• Shortlisted nominees and their nominators will be invited to attend the awards ceremony on the evening of 11 October 2024 (date and venue TBC). Finalists will receive certificates. Winners will receive trophies.
• All unsuccessful nominees will receive a thank you letter from our chief executive.
• The judges’ decision is final.

Process for handling nominations

1. Nomination form submitted via the online form or posted with a photograph wherever possible. Nominators will receive an acknowledgement of their nomination on the website once it is submitted.  If you did not receive this, please email lpt.communications@nhs.net to check that the nomination has been received.
2. The awards’ organising team will remove any nominations which are incomplete and/or do not meet the criteria for the category, using the 250 word count limit text only to  prepare a shortlist for each award which will be forwarded to a shortlisting panel (w/c 10 June 2024)
3. Those not shortlisted will receive a letter from LPT Chief Executive Angela Hillery, congratulating them for being nominated.
4. The judging panel will meet on the week of 8 July 2024 to discuss the shortlisted nominations in each category and select the winners.
5. Those who are shortlisted will receive an email letter with an invitation to RSVP for the awards ceremony. Confirmation of attendance must be within the deadline specified to reserve a space and non-attendance thereafter may be subject to a charge. Letters will be sent to those who do not access email regularly (as indicated by the nominator on the nomination form). Team invitations must have a representative that completes the RSVP form on the consent of those attending.
6. Nominators of shortlisted nominees will be required to attend a filming session in preparation for a film to be shown as part of the big reveal of winners on the awards evening.
7. Details of all shortlisted nominations will be published on our website and in our internal communications.  Details of winners will be shared on the night on social media.
8. Media releases about winners will be sent to local media as soon as the photographs from the awards ceremony are available. Media interviews might be requested, subject to consent.

Judging

Any nominations which are incomplete and/or do not meet the criteria for the category will not be put forward. The awards’ organising team and a representative shortlisting panel will determine the shortlist of nominations to go forward for judging.

The shortlisting and judging panels are made up of a combination of the below:

• CEO or Chair
• Two executive directors
• One Non-executive director
• Two HR representatives
• Two communications reps
• One staff-side representative
• One patient, service user or carer rep
• One LPT staff member or volunteer
• Representatives from award sponsors
• One key stakeholder/organisational partner
• A media representative

Timetable

• Awards launch – w/c 1 April 2024
• Deadline for nominations –13 May 5pm
• Shortlisting panel – w/c 10 June
• Judging panel meets – w/c 8 July
• Filming of all those shortlisted undertaken in-house – 22 July onwards
• Celebrating Excellence 2024 Award Ceremony – 11 October

Further information

For further information about the Celebrating Excellence Awards 2023, please contact the Communications Team: lpt.communications@nhs.net

 

You can also download the information on this page as a Word document.