Performance Recovery Award

Performance recovery award winners 24
Performance Recovery Award
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Health and care services have faced significant strain in recent years, with the urgent reprioritisation of limited resources resulting in tough decisions, a fatigued workforce, and unavoidable care delays. However, with a renewed focus on productivity, efficiency, and tackling backlogs, the emphasis now lies on restoring NHS performance and improving patient flow. While full service restoration remains a long-term goal, NHS organisations are adopting innovative approaches to get there faster. This award recognises those teams and organisations that are making tangible improvements for staff, patients, and populations, delivering results quickly and effectively.

Performance recovery initiatives can span various areas - restoring delayed services, meeting performance targets, rebuilding clinical teams, reopening vital facilities, optimising the use of resources, and improving the efficiency of care delivery. Judges will be looking for evidence of enhanced service accessibility, reduce waiting lists, and strengthen service delivery across the healthcare system.

Eligibility

This category is open to public and third-sector healthcare organisations, teams, and collaborations that have taken clear steps to restore performance and service levels, aiming to meet or exceed their pre-pandemic baseline.

Ambition

The challenge and context within which your project, person or organisation is set alongside your goals and targets whether quantitative or qualitative, and how this aligns with national priorities.

  • Describe the context of your recovery initiative, including the operational, financial, clinical or workforce constraints you were looking to overcome
  • What was your vision for performance recovery, and how did your new initiatives and processes differ from pre-pandemic norms?
  • What targets and measures of success were set, and what partnership or cross-functional working was required to realise the vision?

Collaboration

The stakeholders' involvement in co-designing and delivering the project. How have patients, staff at all levels, communities and other parties worked together to realise the outcomes?

  • How were clinicians and the wider workforce engaged in performance recovery, and how was buy-in achieved?
  • How were patients and end-users involved in the initiative, and to what extent was this prioritised given the need for quick and agile implementation?

Impact

The measurable benefits delivered to patients, staff, your organisation or the wider system. Provide data and evidence showing improvements to outcomes, quality, access, equity or efficiency.

  • How is the vision being achieved, and what performance improvements have been delivered so far compared to the targets set? Quantitative evidence is essential but qualitative feedback is also welcomed
  • What new processes, roles, technologies or ways of working have been implemented, and how did you overcome the challenge of developing and implementing these at pace?
  • What has been the impact on staff, patients and the wider system, including any financial savings or efficiencies realised?

Scale

How your work has been shared, adopted or replicated beyond your immediate team or organisation. This includes dissemination through publications, presentations, toolkits, partnerships or inspiring similar initiatives elsewhere.

  • How can initial successes be replicated and scaled in the future?
  • What work has been undertaken to share best practice learning with other departments or healthcare organisations?
  • What evidence is there that this approach could deliver positive outcomes elsewhere?

Sustainability

The potential for the project/work to continue and create lasting impact. Evidence of how it can be sustained or built upon.

  • How are the improvements being embedded into business as usual, and what resource or funding is in place to sustain them?
  • How does this initiative contribute to the longer-term restoration of NHS performance and resilience?
  • What evidence is there that this work can be built upon or adapted by other teams or systems?

To find out more

Partnership opportunities:  Sponsorship Sales Team
Awards entry enquiries: Delegate Sales Team
Judging and event management: Awards Support