Award nominations for Greater Manchester teams improving patient safety, mental health and career pathways into health and care.
The three nominations celebrate work spanning patient safety, mental health and workforce development, highlighting the strength of collaboration across Greater Manchester’s health and care system.
Transforming mental health care closer to home
The ‘Care Closer, Care Smarter: Transforming Mental Health Flow in Greater Manchester’ programme has been shortlisted for Provider Collaboration of the Year.
The programme is helping more people receive mental health care closer to home by reducing out-of-area placements and strengthening community-based support.
Since launching, the average number of people receiving care in out-of-area placements has fallen from 193 in 2024 to 101 by February 2026. At the same time, £23.2 million has been saved and reinvested into local mental health services.
The success is a powerful example of what can be achieved when organisations across Greater Manchester work together, helping people stay connected to their families, communities and local support networks while creating a more sustainable mental health system.
The programme is being delivered in partnership with Pennine Care NHS Foundation Trust and Greater Manchester Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust, with the collaboration also recognised nationally for its innovative approach.
Professor Manisha Kumar, Chief Clinical Officer at NHS Greater Manchester, said:
“This recognition reflects the power of partners working together to improve care for our communities. Through effective commissioning, shared planning and investment across Greater Manchester, we have helped create a model that enables more people to receive mental health care closer to home. This means people can remain connected to their families, support networks and local services, which means better experiences for patients, and recovery.”
The winners of the HSJ Awards 2026 will be announced later this year.
Strengthening patient safety through digital innovation
The GM Care Record’s System-Wide Clinical Safety Model has been shortlisted for the Patient Safety Award.
The framework provides a consistent approach to identifying, reporting and managing digital clinical safety incidents across approximately 460 health and care organisations using the GM Care Record.
Between April 2024 and March 2026, the framework enabled 35 clinical safety incidents to be formally reported, investigated and tracked through to resolution.
This has helped teams identify and address issues including patient record integrity, care planning systems, clinical alerts and the way critical information is presented to professionals involved in patient care.
Creating new pathways into health and care careers
The Greater Manchester T Level Health & Care Industry Placement Programme has been shortlisted for Workforce Initiative of the Year.
The programme has transformed T Level placement opportunities across the health and care system, expanding capacity, tripling employer involvement and creating new workforce pathways.
By building sustainable infrastructure and creating clearer routes into health and care careers, the programme is helping address workforce shortages while supporting the ambitions of the NHS Long Term Workforce Plan.
Together, the three nominations demonstrate the breadth of innovation and partnership working taking place across Greater Manchester – from transforming mental health services and improving patient safety to developing the next generation of the health and care workforce.
The winners will be announced at the HSJ Awards ceremony on Thursday 19 November 2026, celebrating the inspiring work taking place across the UK healthcare sector.
Congratulations to everyone involved in these fantastic achievements and to all the Greater Manchester teams recognised in this year’s HSJ Awards shortlist.
