Annual staff awards nominations now open

Have you or someone you know received exceptional care from Derbyshire Healthcare? Nominate a Trust team or staff member to recognise their support. 

Local people and colleagues can now nominate Derbyshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust staff and volunteers for a 2026 HEARTS (Honouring Exceptional and Really Terrific Staff) Award, recognising the care and support they provide over the last 12 months. 

There are 10 award categories including ‘clinical team of the year’, ‘rising star’ and ‘patient focus’. Carers and service users can nominate in eight of the 10 categories – (with only two categories, the Inclusive Leader Award and Lifetime Achievement Award reserved for nominations from Derbyshire Healthcare colleagues.  

The nomination process is a quick one, and involves filling in a short nomination form on the Derbyshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust website.

Nominations close at midnight on Sunday 16 August 2026. The nominations will then be judged by a panel and the chosen finalists in each category will be invited to the awards ceremony in October where a winner will be announced. 

If you have recently nominated a colleague for a DEED (Delivering Excellence Every Day) for their efforts over a sustained period, please consider expanding that nomination and submitting it for a HEARTS Award. 

Rebecca Oakley, Director of People, Organisational Development and Inclusion said: “The NHS continues to face significant pressures, making it more important than ever to recognise the dedication, compassion and commitment of our staff. These awards provide an opportunity to celebrate the outstanding contributions of nurses, psychiatrists, occupational therapists, physiotherapists, paediatricians and colleagues from across our services who have made a positive difference over the past 12 months. We are always incredibly grateful to receive nominations from patients, carers and members of the public, to help us to recognise and celebrate the exceptional care and support our staff provide every day. We hope to receive many more nominations again this year.”

Take a look at the categories below: 

Team categories

• Clinical Team of the Year Award – team award category - for rising to the challenge of working in ever-changing circumstances and delivering compassionate, safe, responsive and effective care to patients.

• Non-Clinical Team of the Year Award – team award category - for working effectively for the wider benefit of the Trust and patients, demonstrating ambition and a desire to support our patients and our people.

Team and/or individual categories

• Making a Positive Difference Award – for a team or individual that has made a positive difference to the lives of the people we serve or work with every day by creating a positive culture and by embodying our values: Caring, Inclusive, Collaborative, Ambitious, Belonging.

• Partnership and Collaboration Award – for a team or individual that has gone to significant lengths to involve experts by experience, members of our communities or system partners in shaping their services or their work.

• Patient Focus Award – for a team or individual that excels in being respectful of, and responsive to, the needs and values of our service users, patients, children, families and carers, resulting in positive feedback or service outcomes and high levels of satisfaction.

• Productivity, Sustainability and Innovation Award – showcasing a team or individual that has found new ways to deliver projects or services that demonstrate best value for our population, encourage prevention and self-care, embrace technology and/or result in environmental improvements.

​​​​​​​​​​​​​​Individual award categories

• Outstanding Care and Compassion Award – for an individual who goes the extra mile to ensure their service is caring and compassionate and makes a difference to the lives of patients, service users, carers and colleagues.

• Rising Star Award – individual award category - this award recognises outstanding performance within the organisation and celebrates growing talent at Derbyshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust. This person will be new to the NHS or their profession and have made exceptional and ambitious contributions to their team and service.

• Inclusive Leader Award – individual award category (Derbyshire Healthcare staff nominations only) - for showing real care and compassion for colleagues, recognising and celebrating the positive impact of inclusion and diversity and creating a sense of belonging. Open to colleagues from all levels of the organisation.

• Lifetime Achievement Award – individual award category (Derbyshire Healthcare staff nominations only) - this award seeks to recognise colleagues with over 40 years’ service who have dedicated their career to the NHS. They will truly reflect the Trust values and will have demonstrated a commitment to providing support and care to both patients and staff.

​​​​​​​For more information about the HEARTS Awards, please contact dhcft.engagement@nhs.net.