Award Categories

We are looking for nominations in the following categories:

Download our Award Guidance Notes PDF for printable details of the categories, nomination guidelines and judging criteria.

Innovation and Service Development Award

This award will go to the individual or team who can demonstrate a truly innovative approach to the delivery of care to Armed Forces personnel, their families or veterans. It will recognise exceptional work, including research work, that has resulted in an improved patient experience, improved health outcomes, or a greater level of efficiency and effectiveness of service. Entries on pieces of research will be accepted even though the findings may not yet have been put into practice, although the research itself must have been completed and the outcomes described in the nomination.

Specific Criteria

The innovation should demonstrate truly novel techniques or originality in provision of medical or therapy care, demonstrably superior to previous delivery of care to the same patient population. The innovation should demonstrate a genuine improvement in the delivery of healthcare to members of the Armed Services, their families or veteran population. The development should be relevant to, but improve upon, current delivery of health or social care. The application should describe how the need for the innovation or service development was identified and the particular role of the individual or team in addressing it. The Judges will also be looking for evidence that the innovation has been, or is capable of being, transferred to other locations/units/services to enable improvement of service delivery more widely, and for evidence of military/civilian partnership working.

Judging Criteria

What the judges will be looking for:

  1. Description of a truly innovative approach to the delivery of care or to service development, including description of novel technique(s) or originality in provision
  2. Description of how the need for innovation/ service development was identified and the particular role of the individual/team in addressing it
  3. Evidence of improved patient experience
  4. Evidence of improved health or social care outcomes
  5. Evidence of increased level of efficiency and/or effectiveness of service
  6. Evidence, or assessment, of transferability of improved approach to other locations/units/services to improve services more widely
  7. Evidence of military/civilian partnership working

 

Education and Training Award

This award seeks to recognise outstanding improvements in the education and training of providers, military or civilian, to deliver health or social care to personnel in the Armed Forces, their families or veterans. It will recognise the work of either an individual or a team which has made a significant contribution to the education and training of providers, and thus to the health and social care they provide in an operational, peacetime or civilian setting. (NB: Nominations on education/training of Armed Forces personnel, their families or veterans should be entered in the Health Improvement and Promotion category.)

Specific Criteria

The exceptional education and/or training work cited should have demonstrably improved the capacity of providers to improve delivery of health or social care to the Armed forces, their families or veteran population. Judges will be looking for demonstration of specific improvements or new models of training design, delivery or simulation which are not only relevant to the current delivery of health or social care but improve the preparedness of military or civilian providers for their operational or peacetime role. Where relevant, the award will recognise the use of research to improve education/training and, in turn, health or social care outcomes. Judges will also be looking for evidence that the education/training improvement is capable of being transferred to other locations/units/services to enable improvement of service delivery more widely, and for evidence of military/civilian partnership working.

Judging Criteria

What the judges will be looking for:

  1. Description of a significant improvement in education or training which contributes to the healthcare of the Armed Forces, their families or veterans 
  2. Evidence of how this work improves the preparedness of military or civilian health or social care providers for their operational or peacetime role
  3. Description of specific improvements or new models of training design, delivery or simulation
  4. Relevance to current delivery of health or social care, including, where relevant, demonstration of the use of research to improve education/training
  5. Evidence of improved patient outcomes and/or experience
  6. Evidence or assessment of transferability of improved approach to other locations/units/services to improve services more widely
  7. Evidence of military/civilian partnership working

 

Health Improvement and Promotion Award

This award seeks to recognise an individual or team for their exceptional work in promoting and maintaining the health of the population of Armed Forces personnel to ensure that they are and remain fully fit for task, or for exceptional work with families or veterans in this area. It will recognise a significant contribution to the health of military patients, or to their families or veterans, in primary or secondary care, environmental, occupational, public health or occupational medicine areas.

Specific Criteria

This award recognises exceptional improvements in the health of the Armed Forces and/or their families in the UK or overseas, or the health of veterans, to include the recognition of outstanding contributions to primary care in the widest sense, or to secondary care or public health. This award will look for outstanding examples of nursing, clinical or therapeutic practice, by military or civilian staff, with a demonstrable improvement in health outcomes among the target population. Judges will also be looking for evidence that the excellent practice cited has been, or is capable of being, transferred to enable improvement of service delivery more widely, and for evidence of military/civilian partnership working.

Judging Criteria

What the judges will be looking for:

  1. Demonstration of exceptional work in promoting and maintaining the health of Armed Forces personnel, their families or veterans in primary or secondary care, environmental, occupational, public health or occupational medicine
  2. Description of how the need for improvement was identified and the steps taken to address it, including the particular roles and action taken by the individual/team
  3. Evidence of increased uptake of health promotion or improvement activities by military/dependent population or veterans
  4. Evidence of improved patient experience
  5. Evidence of improved health outcomes for Armed Forces, their families or veteran population
  6. Evidence or assessment of transferability of improved approach to other locations/units/services to improve services more widely
  7. Evidence of military/civilian partnership working

 

Mental Health Award

The Mental Health award will be presented to an individual or team for an outstanding contribution in improving mental healthcare to members of the Armed Forces, their families or veterans.

Specific Criteria

This award will recognise the contribution of mental healthcare providers who have demonstrated outstanding mental healthcare delivery.  The intervention of the person or team must have improved mental health outcomes for the deployed or non-deployed military population, their families or veterans.  The introduction of novel techniques or practices which demonstrably improve mental health outcomes will be credited. Judges will also be looking for evidence or assessment of transferability of the improved approach to mental healthcare to other locations/units/services to improve services more widely, particularly to the non-military population, and for evidence of military/civilian partnership working.

Judging Criteria

What the judges will be looking for:

  1. Description of an outstanding contribution to the delivery of mental healthcare to the Armed Forces, their families or veterans
  2. Evidence of improved mental health outcomes for the target population
  3. Evidence of novel techniques or practices which have demonstrably improved health outcomes
  4. Evidence of improvement of the patient experience
  5. Evidence of measurable achievement of expected benefit
  6. Evidence or assessment of potential to transfer skills/interventions to other locations/units/services, particularly to the non-military population healthcare system
  7. Evidence of military/civilian partnership working

 

Healthcare Reservist of the Year

The Healthcare Reservist of the Year Award will be presented to an individual who has made an outstanding contribution to the healthcare of patients in the Armed Forces or the Reserve Services.  This award is only open to individual healthcare professionals serving in the RESERVE SERVICES at the time of the activity/piece of work cited, but within that restriction is open to healthcare professionals in any discipline.

Specific Criteria

This Award will recognise the outstanding individual contribution by a Reservist healthcare professional to personnel in the Armed Forces, during training, preparation for, or when mobilised on operations.  The contribution will reflect exceptional selfless dedication and commitment, or self-motivation, discipline and effort, or vision, leadership, and organisation, or combinations of all these, all representing the core skills that the Reserve Service develops.  The individual’s outstanding contribution should have resulted in demonstrable improvements in health outcomes or patient experience.  The judges will also be looking for evidence of how the individual is able to transfer the skills, qualities and experience demonstrated or acquired in service into their civilian healthcare role, including, as appropriate, to the training of others, and evidence of military/civilian partnership working.

Judging Criteria

What the judges will be looking for:

  1. Description of how the Reservist has made an outstanding contribution to the healthcare of patients in the Armed Forces during training, preparation for, or when mobilised on operations
  2. Evidence of exceptional selfless dedication and commitment
  3. Evidence of exceptional self-motivation, discipline and effort
  4. Evidence of exceptional vision, leadership or organisational skills
  5. Evidence of improvement to health outcomes or patient experience
  6. Evidence of how the Reservist transfers the skills, qualities and experience demonstrated in service into their civilian role, including, as appropriate, to the training of others
  7. Evidence of military/civilian partnership working

 

Healthcare Regular of the Year

The Healthcare Regular of the Year Award will be presented to an individual who has made a significant contribution to the healthcare of deployed or non-deployed personnel in the Armed Forces or their families in the UK or overseas. This award is only open to individuals who were serving as REGULARS in the Armed Forces at the time of the piece of work, activity or service described.

Specific Criteria

This award will recognise an outstanding individual contribution by a serving healthcare professional in primary or secondary care or allied health professions to Armed Forces personnel or their families, resulting in improved patient experience and/or improved health outcomes. The contribution will highlight the individual’s exceptional selfless dedication and commitment, self-motivation, discipline and effort, and/or vision, leadership and organisational skills.  Where the individual works within a team or teams, the judges will be looking for evidence of what makes his or her personal contribution stand out. Judges will also be looking for evidence that the individual’s exceptional approach to service delivery has been or can be transferred to other locations/units/services to improve the quality of services more widely, and for evidence of military/civilian partnership working.

Judging Criteria

What the judges will be looking for:

  1. Description of an outstanding contribution which makes the individual stand out within the team(s) within which he or she works
  2. Evidence of exceptional selfless dedication and commitment
  3. Evidence of exceptional self motivation, discipline and effort
  4. Evidence of exceptional vision, leadership or organisational skills
  5. Evidence of improved health outcomes or patient experience for serving personnel or their families
  6. Evidence that the individual’s exceptional approach to service delivery has been or can be transferred to other locations/units/services
  7. Evidence of military/civilian partnership working

 

Healthcare Civilian of the Year

The Healthcare Civilian of the Year Award will be presented to an individual who has made a significant contribution to the health or social care of Armed Forces patients, their families or veterans. This award is open only to CIVILIAN health or social care staff, in any discipline, working with the Armed Forces, their families or veterans.

Specific Criteria

This award will recognise the outstanding individual contribution by a civilian health or social care worker to patients in the Armed Forces, in the UK or overseas, to their families or to veterans. The contribution is expected to demonstrate some or all of the qualities of exceptional selfless dedication, commitment, self-motivation, discipline and effort, or vision, leadership, and organisation. Judges will be looking for a contribution which makes the individual stand out among the team(s) within which he or she works. They will also be looking for evidence that the learning from the individual’s exceptional approach to service delivery has been or can be transferred to other locations/units/services to improve service quality more widely, and for evidence of military/civilian partnership working.

Judging Criteria

What the judges will be looking for:

  1. Demonstration of an outstanding contribution to the healthcare of patients in the Armed Forces, their families or veterans, in the UK or overseas, that makes the individual stand out among the team(s) within which he/she works
  2. Evidence of exceptional selfless dedication and commitment
  3. Evidence of exceptional self motivation, discipline and effort
  4. Evidence of exceptional vision, leadership or organisational skills
  5. Evidence of a significant contribution resulting in improved health outcomes or patient experience 
  6. Evidence that learning from the individual’s exceptional approach to service delivery has been or can be transferred to other locations/units/services
  7. Evidence of military/civilian partnership working

 

Care of Veterans Award

The Care of Veterans Award will be awarded to an individual or team in the Armed Forces, NHS or independent sector, or a mixed NHS, independent sector and Armed Forces team, whose work has made an outstanding contribution to the healthcare (including mental healthcare) or social care of Veterans, improving both quality and outcomes of care.

Specific Criteria

This award will recognise outstanding contributions to any branch of veterans’ health or social care.  This award will take into account the quality of clinical or other interventions and, where relevant, the need for cultural sensitivity of services.  It will recognise one or all of the following:

  • Innovations and efforts to raise civilian staff awareness of military and Veterans’ issues.
  • The development of effective communications strategies for clinical staff and the client population.
  • Measures to assess and improve the accessibility of care to Veterans.

Judges will also be looking for evidence or assessment of transferability of the improved approach to other locations/units/services to improve services more widely, and for evidence of military/civilian partnership working.

Judging Criteria

What the judges will be looking for:

  1. Demonstration of an outstanding contribution to the healthcare (including mental healthcare) of veterans, improving both quality and outcomes of care
  2. Demonstration of the quality of clinical or other interventions and, where relevant, the need for cultural sensitivity of services
  3. Evidence of innovations/efforts to raise civilian staff awareness of military and veterans’ issues
  4. Evidence of the development of effective communications strategies for clinical staff/client population
  5. Demonstration of measures to assess and improve the accessibility of care to veterans
  6. Evidence or assessment of transferability of the improved approach to other locations/units/services to improve services more widely
  7. Evidence of military/civilian partnership working

 

Deployed Healthcare Award

The Deployed Healthcare Award will value the work of an individual or a team, military or civilian or mixed, which has made an outstanding contribution to the healthcare of Armed Forces personnel or others on operational deployment at sea, on land or in the air, extending from the front line back to arrival at a UK point of entry. This category is restricted to work improving the healthcare of deployed personnel or the healthcare of other patients treated in UK Military medical facilities.  Entries may reflect any discipline in primary, secondary or allied healthcare, or health research.

Specific Criteria

This Award will recognise either a specific area of activity from a single deployment, or an area of delivery that provides widespread improvement in operational healthcare. The award will recognise outstanding contributions to the delivery of healthcare to the deployed military population or local patients sufficient to make genuine improvement to health outcomes and/or to the quality of the patients’ experience. Judges will be looking for evidence of how the particular challenges of deployment have been overcome by the individual/team in delivering this service or piece of work, and of what makes it stand out from other similar work with deployed personnel. They will also be looking for an assessment of how the learning from this outstanding approach has been or can be transferred to other locations/units/services to improve services more widely, and for evidence of military/civilian partnership working.

Judging Criteria

What the judges will be looking for:

  1. Demonstration of an outstanding contribution to healthcare of Armed Forces personnel on deployment at sea, on land or in the air, or the healthcare of other patients treated in UK Military medical facilities
  2. Evidence/description of how the individual/team overcame the particular challenges of deployment to deliver this service/activity
  3. Evidence/description of what makes this work stand out from other similar work
  4. Evidence of improvement in health outcomes
  5. Evidence of improvement in quality of patient experience
  6. Evidence or assessment of potential to transfer the learning to other locations/units/services
  7. Evidence of military/civilian partnership working

 

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