Hampshire and Isle of Wight Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust has been shortlisted for three prestigious national awards, recognising excellence in partnership working, innovation, and the vital work that supports high‑quality patient care across the region.
The shortlisting spans estates and facilities, integrated community partnerships, and a pioneering clinical pathway, highlighting the breadth of the Trust’s impact and its commitment to delivering outstanding care.
Design in Mental Health Awards – Team of the Year
The Trust’s Estates and Facilities Team has been shortlisted for Team of the Year at the national Design in Mental Health Awards.
The recognition celebrates the team’s outstanding work in bringing estates services together following Trust integration, while maintaining a strong focus on supporting staff and patients. By working in close partnership with clinical teams and people with lived experience, the team has delivered practical improvements to care environments that enhance safety, comfort and dignity across Trust sites.
A key strength has been their commitment to genuine collaboration. At the same time, the team has supported a strong focus on the Trust’s long‑term sustainability commitments. They continue to align estates improvements with the Trust’s net‑zero carbon target, ensuring that enhancements to patient care are delivered with environmental responsibility at their core.
The shortlisting highlights the essential but often unseen contribution that estates and facilities teams make to patient care, demonstrating how thoughtful, collaborative design and maintenance directly improve day‑to‑day experiences for people using and working in NHS buildings. Winners will be revealed on 6 June.
NHS Excellence Awards – Working in Partnership (Regional Champion)
A groundbreaking partnership between the Trust and local Citizens Advice services has been named a Regional Champion in the Working in Partnership category at the first NHS Excellence Awards.
This innovative approach embeds Citizens Advice caseworkers directly within mental health inpatient wards, supporting people with practical issues such as housing, debt, employment and legal concerns. By addressing these pressures alongside clinical care, the partnership helps remove barriers to discharge, supports sustainable recovery, and ensures people feel cared for as whole individuals — not just as patients.
Since launching in April 2022, the partnership has delivered significant benefits, including fewer readmissions, reduced medication use, shorter lengths of stay, and long‑standing, complex advice needs being resolved. The initiative has also demonstrated exceptional value for money, generating a return of £14.06 for every £1 invested for the Trust, allowing resources to be reinvested into clinical care.
Clinical staff consistently report reduced stress, higher job satisfaction and improved team morale, as specialist advice support lifts the burden of social issues from clinical teams. The awards ceremony will take place at NHS ConfedExpo 2026 on 10 June.
Advancing Healthcare Awards – Right to Rehab
The Trust’s Functional Neurology Specialist Pathway, “From Fragmentation to Function”, has been shortlisted for a national Advancing Healthcare Award in the Right to Rehab category.
Developed in partnership with the Wessex Neurological Centre at University Hospital Southampton, the pathway addresses long‑standing challenges for people living with Functional Neurological Disorder (FND), including fragmented care, postcode variation and limited access to rehabilitation and psychological support.
Established without additional funding, the system‑wide pathway brings together allied health professionals, psychology, neurology and neuropsychiatry to deliver timely diagnosis, coordinated rehabilitation and care closer to home. It includes a specialist clinic, virtual education, regular community team support and co‑designed patient resources, helping to reduce inequalities and improve patient experience.
Early outcomes show meaningful clinical benefit, increased confidence across teams and clear system‑wide value. The awards ceremony is set for 19 June.
Andrea Metcalf, Chief People Officer at Hampshire and Isle of Wight Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, said: “These national shortlists reflect the outstanding work of our staff and partners in delivering high‑quality, compassionate and innovative care. I am immensely proud of the teams involved and the difference their work continues to make for patients, communities and colleagues across Hampshire and the Isle of Wight. Being shortlisted is a fantastic achievement, and as an organisation we wish our colleagues across these three awards all the very best for the final outcomes.”