The relaunch of the Excellence in Patient Care Awards 2025
The RCP was delighted to relaunch the Excellence in Patient Care Awards (EPCA) which recognise, celebrate and reward the hard work done by physicians and multidisciplinary healthcare teams in the UK and across the world.
This year’s awards saw finalists and winners invited to The Spine in Liverpool, for the first in-person ceremony since 2019.
We believe that it is more important than ever to celebrate the remarkable work done across our healthcare community, as RCP members and fellows around the world have continued to lead the way in improving patient care through education, research, clinical practice and policy.
The awards
Following a short break due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we expanded the 2025 awards to ten categories, reflecting the changing healthcare landscape. We invited the top five teams and individuals in each category to deliver a short online presentation earlier this year, before joining us at the evening awards ceremony on 10 July 2025. The winners displayed an inspiring breadth and quality of work, all modelling excellence in patient care and fully deserving of their awards.
The Alliance Medical Health inequalities award – working towards inclusive care for all
This was awarded to #MoreThanAHospital – the Midland Metropolitan University Hospital (MMUH), a new acute hospital that is acting as a catalyst for improved health outcomes via regeneration, increased employment, education and local opportunity.
Team members: Dr Sarb Clare, Rachel Barlow, Liam Kennedy, Marsha Jones and MMUH company.
The Lean enabled service improvement award
This was awarded to the DISCARD3 study at St Mark’s Hospital and NHS England’s Optical Diagnosis Implementation teams for their work on the national implementation of optical diagnosis in the English Bowel Cancer Screening Programme (BCSP).
The study showed that optical diagnosis with a ‘resect and discard’ strategy is a greener, leaner, more efficient and cost-effective way to perform colonoscopy and is both safe and acceptable for patients and clinicians.
Team members: Ahmir Ahmad, Brian Saunders, Stephen Hearing and Lee Adams representing the teams.
Sustainability award – reducing the environmental impact of healthcare
This award was given to ‘Pen switch’, an initiative by University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Foundation Trust and Amicus Health (Tiverton). Team members have been promoting sustainable insulin prescribing by switching to reusable pens in Devon.
Disposable insulin pens generate 60 tonnes of plastic waste and CO2 equivalent to around 2.5 million car miles annually in England. Using reusable pens reduces 89% of the plastic waste and 40% of treatment carbon footprint.
Team members: Dr Vincent Simpson and Dr Deepthi Lavu.
The Medical Protection Society award for patient safety
This award went to team members at Croydon Hospital Emergency Department for their work on opt-out HIV testing, an initiative which saves lives, reduces healthcare inequalities and tackles stigma.
Since 2005, the team has been collecting data on all HIV inpatient and outpatient activity in Croydon to better understand the problem of late HIV diagnoses. The programme has dramatically improved patient safety and reduced inequality.
Team members: Dr Ian Cormack, Dr Sarah Horne, Dr Wendy Armstrong, Andrew Widdowson, Dr Leslie Perry and Carl DeSouza.
The Alliance Medical education – improving patient focus
This was awarded to DigiBete CIC and NHSE diabetes team for their work in implementing a self-management education solution for children and young people’s diabetes.
DigiBete is a nationally commissioned, patient-led, clinically approved app which offers digital self-management education for families managing type 1 and type 2 diabetes. Supporting 95% of NHS paediatric diabetes clinics, the clinic portal enables over 2,000 healthcare professionals to connect with 35,000 patients, filling a critical gap in out-of-hours care.
Team members: Professor Partha Kar, Dr Fiona Campbell, Frances Hanson, Caroline Muller, Dr Nivedita Aswani, Dr Fulya Mehta, Maddie Julian, Rob Julian, Salma Mehar and Hilary Nathan.
The Medical Practice Management award for developing workforce
This award, which recognises innovative ideas to improve group working, was given to members of the Rotherham NHS Foundation Trust for their multi-year project enhancing resident doctor experience and productivity within a district general hospital medical department.
Team members: Dr Matthew Roycroft, the division of medicine senior leadership team (especially Paul Stewart, Dr Jeremy Reynard and Nicola Colley), the medical workforce team (especially Karen Backhouse, Anisa Ali, Joanne Freeman and Abigail Fairhurst), and the division of medicine service managers and finance team (especially Kerry Gedney and Alison Beard).
The Harold Thimbleby award for digital transformation
This was awarded to members of Chelsea and Westminster Hospital NHS Foundation Trust for their work in pioneering cardiac digital care through virtual wards.
An ageing community living with chronic diseases challenges the abilities of traditional care models to provide high-quality care. This project showcases how the use of digital technologies, integrated into care pathways and with a focus on all-user inclusion, have enabled us to improve outcomes and use of resources.
Team members: Sadia Khan, Jasjit Syan, Grant McQueen, James Bird, Sarah Pearse, Jodian Barrett, Mike Wright, Keenan Saleh, Rahim Kanji, Cindy Supan, Nawale Janati, Jose Padernal, Dianne Dela Cruz, Jonathon Valabhji, Emma Barron, Hussein Al Hakem, Morana Johnston, Angela Murphy, Gary Davies and Roger Chinn.
The Eric Watts award for patient engagement
This award was given to members at the Cwm Taf Morgannwg University Health Board for their development of the Wales Lung Health Check Operational Pilot to optimise equitable participation.
Low-dose CT screening for lung cancer saves lives and has been recommended for implementation in the UK, but participation is often low. The team co-developed materials with patient and public involvement to overcome barriers to equitable participation in the pilot for Wales.
Team members: Dr Sinan Eccles, Chris Coslett, Claire Wright, Amy Grace McCutchan, Professor Kate Brain, Dr Samantha Quaife, Dafydd Snelling and Heather Ramessur-Marsden.
Research award – expanding medical knowledge while improving patient care
This was awarded to team members at Great Ormond Street Hospital and University College London, for their work in embedding research into a clinical service to improve outcomes in children with inherited cardiac conditions (ICCs).
ICCs affect young individuals and are associated with lifelong morbidity and mortality, including sudden death. Despite genetic testing advances, clinical management in children has remained largely unchanged for decades. Embedding research into their clinical service aimed to improve outcomes.
Team members: Professor Juan Pablo Kaski, Dr Elena Cervi, Dr Luke Starling, Dr Gabrielle Norrish, Ella Field, Jennifer Tollit, Annabelle Barnes, Helen Walsh, Emma Lord, Nichola French, Sorcha Smyth, Annabel Crompton and Elisha Thompson.
Chief Registrar project of the year
This was awarded to members of the 2024/25 Chief Registrar Programme cohort for their work on establishing a novel international medical graduate training academy for Gloucester Hospitals.
Team members: Dr Mark Jordan and Dr David Baker.
To find out more about the awards, finalists and winners, you can visit the Medical Care – driving change website – and look out for when applications open for the 2026 awards.
In our October edition, Commentary will be publishing more in-depth interviews with several winners, conducted by members of our Resident Doctor Committee.
This piece was produced for the August 2025 edition of Commentary magazine.