The trust which runs the Friarage and Friary hospitals has been shortlisted for NHS Trust of the Year at the Health Service Journal (HSJ) Awards, recognising an outstanding contribution to healthcare.
South Tees Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust was shortlisted, ahead of the official awards ceremony to be held later in November, for its its clinically-led improvement journey standing which the judges said was a “real success story”.
In 2019, the CQC downgraded the trust’s overall rating to ‘requires improvement’.
At the time, inspectors found that clinicians did not always feel properly listened to, and many staff said that caring for patients and families was no longer the organisation’s number one priority.
The trust said that since then it had been empowering its clinicians to take the decisions about how limited resources were managed and care delivered across its hospitals and services.
In 2023, South Tees became one of the first acute hospital trusts in England to improve from ‘requires improvement’ to ‘good’ since the start of the covid-19 pandemic in 2020.
Sue Page CBE, chief executive at South Tees Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, said: “This is wonderful recognition for our amazing staff, partners and communities.
“We are so proud to have the opportunity to share the story of our improvement journey with colleagues from across the entire NHS.
“The work goes on, and we are committed to working tirelessly to carry on raising our standards in collaboration with our fantastic partners and communities as we continue to recover together from the huge effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.”
HSJ editor Alastair McLellan, adds: “It always gives me great pleasure to congratulate our finalists at this stage of the judging process and this year is no exception as we acknowledge South Tees Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust for being shortlisted in the category of NHS Trust of the Year.
“It’s been so encouraging to hear that 2023 has been record-breaking in terms of the number of applicants and, as ever, the calibre of entries left our panel of expert judges with some tough decisions to deliberate over.
“However, it’s always important to remember that the HSJ Awards are not just a celebration of success stories but also a platform to shape the future of the NHS.
“We can’t wait to welcome our finalists to the awards ceremony in November and to recognise and applaud such impressive achievements across the sector – as well as coming together to help mark the 75th birthday of our great NHS.
“Huge thanks also go to our new headline partner, Vodafone, who share our mission of driving the standard of healthcare excellence and creating better patient experiences.”
The selected winners will be announced during the awards ceremony at Evolution London on November 16.
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