The film industry has always celebrated its great and good with gusto. Yesterday, star treatment was bestowed on a group of workers usually forgotten in the wider world, as the achievements of health and social care workers were recognised.
The 16 Health and Social Care awards, supported by the Guardian, have been dubbed the Oscars of the caring professions. They are intended to mark outstanding innovations by individuals and organisations working in the public, voluntary and independent health and social care sectors in England.
Entries were judged by senior health and social care professionals. They were looking for action and results in several areas, including shaping services to individual needs, ensuring a seamless service, maximising people's talents and tackling health inequalities.
Nominations were made by staff themselves or by service users on their behalf. The winners in each category receive £10,000 to spend on their services and three runners-up for each award get £2,000.
Two individual accolades were given to outstanding achievers in health and social care. Christopher Chambers, team manager of adult community mental health in Somerset, was given the social care award.
Brian Gazzard, consultant physician at the Chelsea and Westminster healthcare NHS trust in west London, took the health award for his work in treating and providing services for people who are HIV positive. Gazzard was a pioneer in the treatment of HIV positive and Aids patients. He has also worked internationally, providing services in other countries for people who are HIV positive and training staff. Since his retirement in 1996 from the post of clinical director at Chelsea and Westminster, he has raised money for research and improving links between researchers. The judging panel considered him "an exceptional person... a pioneer and unique role model".
In the category of mental health, sponsored by the Guardian, the Lambeth mental health awareness project, run by the South London and Maudsley NHS trust, "hugely impressed" the panel. The project team, which includes service users, challenges the stigma and discrimination that discourages people with mental illness from seeking help.
Poole primary care trust in Dorset received a new accolade, the Queen Mother Award, for its services for older people. The award was presented by Prince Charles.
In the field of children's services, the Hull and East Riding Community Health trust was honoured for its inter-agency link team, which is a central referral point for young people with emotional, behavioural and mental health difficulties.
Other winners include:
Emergency care: Flyde Coast primary care centre, Blackpool, for its out-of-hours health and social care scheme.
Children's services (social care): Kingston upon Thames council, south London, for its leaving care service, Admovere, which includes an education unit, outreach programme and voluntary mentoring scheme and has the support of local businesses.
Cancer: The thoracic oncology team, University Hospitals of Leicester NHS trust, for improving outcomes for patients with suspected or diagnosed lung cancer.
Improving working lives: Wolverhampton health action zone for its skills escalator, which has increased the number of nurses recruited through school and community liaison, work experience, mentoring and volunteering.
Coronary heart disease: the Royal Wolverhampton Hospitals trust for its inter-disciplinary heart failure service, which crosses the boundaries of primary and secondary care.
Primary care (access): Norfolk county council social services for its family support teams in child mental health.
Primary care (partnership): Sutton Hill medical practice, Telford, for its families project, which supports women in a deprived area through pregnancy and until their children are of school age, advising on health, housing, benefits and relationships.
Team worker: Newham Healthcare trust, east London, for its bilingual health advocacy service working in 26 languages, including signing for deaf people.
