Published on: 27 June 2025
Derbyshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust is proud to announce that it has been named the winner in two categories at the 2025 HSJ (Health Service Journal) Digital Awards, recognising the organisation’s commitment to digital innovation and the transformative impact of digital technology on patient care and population health across Derbyshire. 
At a ceremony on 26 June, the Trust won the coveted ‘Digital Organisation of the Year’ award and its School Nursing team claimed the ‘Generating Impact in Population Health through Digital’ award.
The ‘Digital Organisation of the Year’ award celebrates the Trust’s implementation of an organisation-wide digital strategy, including the rollout of an integrated and future-proof electronic patient record (EPR) system that enables seamless information sharing across services and with GPs, empowering clinicians and patients alike to make informed decisions without delay. The Trust has also introduced electronic prescribing, resulting in the safer and more consistent management of medicines.
The second award win, for the ‘Generating Impact in Population Health through Digital’ award, highlights the work of the Trust’s School Nursing Team in transforming the way they identify children's health needs in the city of Derby. In partnership with The Lancaster Model (TLM) and Aire Innovate Limited, the team digitised the Health Needs Assessment process, using a digital questionnaire to find out about children and young people's health at various ages. The survey results help the school nursing team to plan services for the future for all children, and to give each child the health and wellbeing support they need as early as possible. Through the questionnaire, the team have heard from 85% of Year 6 students, 70% of Year 9 students and, in a pilot, 94% of a group of Year 12s, revealing a range of potential health needs that can now be addressed more quickly.
The approach has enabled the team to shift from a reactive, safeguarding-focused model to a proactive, child-centred public health approach. This transformation has already made a meaningful difference to the health and wellbeing of over 15,000 young people and their families across Derby city.
Mark Powell, Chief Executive at Derbyshire Healthcare, said: “We are delighted to have won not one, but two national awards that recognise the dedication and innovation of our teams. These achievements reflect our Trust’s strategic focus on digital transformation to improve outcomes, reduce inequalities, and deliver safer, more responsive care to our communities.
“I understand that these wins come at a time of record-breaking participation in the HSJ Digital Awards, with over 430 entries submitted and 205 projects shortlisted. This clearly shows Derbyshire Healthcare’s success through the power of collaboration, clinical leadership, and a shared vision for a digitally enabled NHS.”
The Trust was also shortlisted in a third category for ‘Driving Prevention and Early Intervention through Digital’ which also highlighted leadership in digital health innovation in our school nursing service.
