Top NHS suppliers named in inaugural HSJ Partnership Awards

The first ever HSJ Partnership Awards has recognised the leading suppliers to the NHS in 12 categories.

At the awards ceremony in London last night, Merck, Sharp and Dohme was praised for delivering the best pharmaceutical partnership with the NHS, while the best innovation in medical technology category was won by Bruin Biometrics. The workforce innovation award was secured by ESRconnect and Carnall Farrar was named consultancy of the year.

The full list of winners can be found here.

The Partnership Awards have been launched by HSJ to recognise and celebrate the significant contribution made to the NHS by suppliers of goods and services.

The awards were judged by 48 senior NHS figures, including NHS England director for acute care Keith Willett, Tower Hamlets Clinical Commissioning Group chair Sir Sam Everington and Keith Ridge, the NHS’s chief pharmaceutical officer.

The best healthcare provider category was won by Circle Health’s integrated musculoskeletal service in Bedfordshire. As well as improving patient outcomes in community physiotherapy, it reduced unnecessary secondary care referrals by 24 per cent. MSK clinicians in primary care centres also helped reduce GP caseloads and help patients get early assessments of their conditions.

Some of the winners had worked closely with NHS organisations on long standing issues. Barts Health Trust, for example, saw a reduction in agency staff spend of £15m when it worked with Bank Partners – winner of the recruitment services provider of the year award – to maximise the use of bank staff.

Plan B Solutions – winner of the property and estates management service of the year – had improved the use of space in multiple organisations by a new web-based booking system. The company’s work with Sandwell and West Birmingham CCG had led to 600 hours additional clinical activity as space was used more efficiently.

See the full list of winners  in the menu below, and read a short profile of each winning project.