Cheshire and Merseyside recognised for healthcare excellence as HSJ Awards shortlist announced

NHS Cheshire and Merseyside has been shortlisted as finalists for the prestigious HSJ Awards.

The HSJ Awards are among the most respected accolades in the health sector, highlighting examples of best practice, innovation and compassionate care across the NHS and its partners. 

This year, the Cheshire and Merseyside region has received 12 award nominations across eight different categories.

NHS Cheshire and Merseyside has been shortlisted for the Data-Driven Transformation Award alongside Health Innovation North West Coast for its work on targeting fuel poverty to improve respiratory outcomes.

The project uses Combined Intelligence for Population Health Action (CIPHA) data system to identify adults in St Helens and Knowsley with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) who would benefit most from an intervention, leading to a 9.8 per cent reduction in GP appointments over 12 months.

Cheshire East Care Community Partnerships, which consists of local partners including NHS Cheshire and Merseyside, has also been nominated for the Data-Driven Transformation Award for its proactive neighbourhood care model, which is helping to transform outcomes for residents with complex health needs.

The project identifies frail patients and high-intensity service users using the CIPHA platform to inform targeted interventions. Within a year, the early adopters of this data-driven neighbourhood care model recorded up to a 48% reduction in A&E admissions.

Meanwhile, Cheshire and Merseyside Provider Collaborative – which consists of all local NHS Trusts – has been shortlisted for the Using AI to Enhance Care Quality and Efficiency Award for transforming dermatology skin cancer pathways across the region through AI.

Partnering with AI technology provider Skin Analytics, NHS Trusts in Cheshire and Merseyside are using a cutting-edge AI-powered dermatology system to speed up the diagnosis of suspected skin cancer.

The remaining shortlist for the region is as follows:

• Prof Arthur Sun Myint, Consultant in Clinical Oncology at the Clatterbridge Cancer Centre NHS Foundation Trust, has been nominated for Clinical Leader of the Year.
• Mersey and West Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust has been shortlisted for the Clinical Pathway Redesign Award for its five-year transformation of young adult diabetes care through personalised and risk-stratified support
• NHS University Hospitals of Liverpool Group has also been shortlisted for the Clinical Pathway Redesign Award for its IMPaCT North Palliative Care Virtual Ward.
• Alder Hey Children’s NHS Foundation Trust appears on the shortlist in the Excellence in Narrowing the Health Inequalities Gap category for its commitment to narrowing child health inequality.
• Liverpool Women’s NHS Foundation Trust also appears on the shortlist in the Excellence in Narrowing the Health Inequalities Gap category for redesigning patient communication to narrow health inequalities.
• Primary Care 24 North Park Practice and housing charity Light for Life have been nominated for HSJ Partnership of the Year for transforming access to healthcare for homeless and vulnerable patients in Sefton.
• Brownlow Health, a network of GP practices operating across central Liverpool, has been nominated for Neighbourhood and Community Care Innovation of the Year for its approach to neighbourhood healthcare.
• Liverpool John Moores University has also been nominated for Neighbourhood and Community Care Innovation of the Year for its community cardiovascular testing collaborative, which is expanding prevention capacity through primary care, local government and academia.
• Countess of Chester Hospital NHS Foundation Trust has been shortlisted for the Towards Net Zero Award for delivering the first NHS Net Zero carbon building standard hospital.

The winners of the 2026 HSJ Awards will be announced at the awards ceremony in London on 19 November.

The full list of finalists can be found at: awards.hsj.co.uk.