A huge congratulations to everyone who was nominated, our shortlisted finalists and of course, the winners.

Efficiency & Improvement

Estates Team: Birmingham Community Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust

This team has worked with a supplier to develop a flushing app to improve water hygiene. The app streamlines the monitoring and reporting of water hygiene compliance, reducing manual record-keeping and administrative tasks. By automating flushing schedules, tracking completion and generating reports in real time, it enhances individual and team productivity.

Runners up: 

Dominique Parker, Facilities Operational Manager, Portering Services team, Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust

The THH Transport Department, The Hillingdon Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

Estates Energy Efficiency Team, NHS University Hospitals of Liverpool Group

Leader of the Year

Dan Reason, Associate Director of Estates & Facilities, Stockport NHS Foundation Trust

Dan is a respected and accomplished leader who inspires and motivates his team, fostering a culture of collaboration, innovation and continuous improvement. His leadership style is characterised by a strong sense of vision, a willingness to take calculated risks and a passion for delivering high-quality services.

Runners up: 

Paul Fitzpatrick, Director of Estates & Facilities, NHS University Hospitals of Liverpool Group 

Diane Rushworth, Senior Supervisor for Cleaning Services, Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

Colin Simpson, Head of Facilities, University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

Andrew Wagstaff, Head of Clinical Engineering, Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

Yvonne Watson, Head of Facilities, Tees, Esk and Wear Valleys NHS Foundation Trust

for Change’ lead, an initiative to enable staff to speak and managers to learn.

People Development

Kay Collins, Facilities Operations Manager, University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust

Kay works with management teams across Site Services focusing on staff engagement and development. The learning and development programme has created a nine-month seconded supervisor role within hotel services to develop existing staff to take on the band 3 Patient Services Supervisor role, a position that the Trust found difficult to recruit into. The programme is now on its fifth intake, with a 100% completion rate. 

Runners up:

Management Team, Barnsley Facilities Services

Facilities Management Team, University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

Fire Safety Team, NHS University Hospitals of Liverpool Group

Personal Development

Shannan Abbott, QMS Technical Administrator & Auditor Somerset NHS Foundation Trust

Shannan’s E&F journey began as a Housekeeping Supervisor in 2022. Moving to a senior PA role, her skills, potential and the impact of her contributions were recognised, leading to her transition into QMS Technical Administrator & Auditor. Central to all E&F services, she leads on mandatory training compliance, appraisal compliance reporting and the Quality Management System (QMS) and continues to independently pursue additional qualifications, skills and leadership responsibilities.

Runners up:

Mica Moore, Business Support Manager, Birmingham Women’s and Children’s NHS Foundation Trust

Ian Powell, Fire Safety Adviser, NHS University Hospitals of Liverpool Group

Project of the Year

North View Project Delivery Team, Greater Manchester Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust

With 150 spacious, single en-suite rooms, North View is GMMH’s flagship new mental health hospital, delivering a state-of-the-art therapeutic environment designed to support service user recovery. It is also the first all-electric mental health hospital in England. Opened in November 2024, it has already transformed inpatient mental healthcare provision and created a leading centre of excellence in the heart of the community it serves.

Runners up:

Paul Scott, Senior Project Manager, Birmingham Women’s and Children’s NHS Foundation Trust

Halifax Community Diagnostics Centre Delivery Team, Calderdale and Huddersfield Solutions Ltd

Capital Estates Team, University Hospitals Dorset NHS Foundation Trust

Capital Estates Team, Wrightington, Wigan and Leigh Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

Team of the Year

Facilities Team, Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust

The Trust’s infection control team nominated facilities teams, including the leadership team, the ward-based facilities teams and the enhanced cleaning teams. They have maintained high standards whilst completing innovation and improvement projects in infection prevention, leading to cost reduction and improved sustainability outcomes. Initiatives have focused on antimicrobial resistance and developing water safe practices.

Runners up:

Portering Team, Barnsley Facilities Services

Estates & Facilities Team (CEF), Greater Manchester Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust

Catering Team, Greater Manchester Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust

Catering Team, Somerset NHS Foundation Trust

Health and Safety Department, NHS University Hospitals of Liverpool Group

Sustainability

Asset Recycling Centre Team (ARC), Salisbury NHS Foundation Trust

Comprising one part-time team leader and 20 volunteers, this team enables the Trust to reuse non-medical assets including furniture and ambulatory aids and provides a re-upholstery service for furniture. Any items that cannot be reused in the hospital are sold or given to charities or overseas causes. Funds raised are donated to the hospital charity for patient projects. Cost avoidance for the Trust in 2023/24 totalled £157,544.

Runners up:

Mohammed Sajard, Sustainability Lead, Barnsley Facilities Services

Sustainability Team, Birmingham Women’s and Children’s NHS Foundation Trust

Catering Team, RJAH Orthopaedic Hospital NHS Foundation Trust

N2O Reduction Project Team, Sheffield Children’s Hospital NHS Foundation Trust

Estates & Facilities Team, The Hillingdon Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

Outstanding Contribution

Alison McCree, Managing Director, Synchronicity Care, National Secretary HEFMA

Alison joined the NHS in 1984, initially on a part-time basis whilst studying for a Health and Social Care Qualification, then completed a three-year national NHS training scheme and moved into her first management role. She progressed, as Head of Hotel Services, Associate Director of Facilities, and Director of Estates & Facilities at County Durham & Darlington NHS Foundation Trust (CDDFT), leading a workforce of over 600 staff. Since 2017, she has been Managing Director of Synchronicity Care, the Trust’s wholly owned subsidiary.

Alison has also given much to the NHS beyond the day job, committing time, effort and sharing her experience through various associations and working groups. She is a former National Chair of the Hospital Caterers Association (HCA) and Healthcare Caterers International, and current Vice President of the HCA.

Thank you to everyone who took the time and effort to submit an entry, and congratulations to all of our winners.

Look out for more detail of the winners in the July/August issue of Pulse and subsequent issues.