Patient-centred care recognised by 2026 PatientsVoices@RCoA Awards

We are delighted to announce the winners of the PatientVoices@RCoA Awards 2026. These awards celebrate and recognise innovative projects and initiatives which have made tangible improvements to patients’ experiences of anaesthesia and perioperative care.

This year’s awards were presented by Dr Claire Shannon, President of the Royal College of Anaesthetists and Jenny Westaway, Chair of PatientsVoices@RCoA, at the College’s Annual Dinner in Brighton on 13 May 2026.

Congratulating the winners, Jenny Westaway, PatientVoices Chair, said: “This year’s winners demonstrate how innovation, when shaped in partnership with patients, can transform not only clinical outcomes but the whole perioperative experience. Each project shows the power of putting patients’ voices at the heart of design.  

“We are proud to recognise teams who are delivering more compassionate, responsive and patient centred care across the NHS.”

Gold Award: NHS Tayside

Creation of a novel motivational rehabilitation service for emergency laparotomy patients

Patients recovering from emergency laparotomy face long hospital stays and limited opportunities for mobilisation. To support them better, NHS Tayside developed an innovative rehabilitation service. Dedicated healthcare support workers provide seven day motivational, physical and cognitive support, creating a structured, patient centred approach to recovery. Daily personalised exercise plans, goal setting, and activities to reduce boredom help patients engage with movement and maintain their wellbeing. This service ensures consistent, compassionate support that responds to what matters to each patient, improving both experience and outcomes.

Project lead Carol Gray said: “It’s really nice to have your work recognised. I’d like to say thank you to all of my team who helped set up the service.

“The project has lifted our patients’ spirits. It means a lot to them because they have someone on the ward to spend time with, and you can feel the positive energy coming from the patients which is lovely.”

Silver Award: Norfolk and Norwich University Hospitals

Regenerating pre operative assessment: delivering a digital solution

This project transformed pre operative assessment within an overstretched service by introducing a digitally enabled pre screening system that gives earlier oversight of the waiting list. Co produced with patients and carers, the Digital Pre Operative Assessment enables timely identification of risk factors, appropriate triage and early optimisation without delaying surgery. By improving efficiency, reducing late cancellations and supporting staff capacity, the initiative has strengthened patient safety and experience while turning waiting lists into active preparation lists for surgery.

Project lead Ruth De Las Casas commented: “We have a brilliant team who have worked very hard and closely together to deliver the initiative and it’s lovely to be recognised.”

Bronze Award: Guy's & St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust

Developing a patient first early screening tool and process in perioperative care

This innovative initiative re imagines when and how perioperative risk is identified by moving complexity screening upstream, before traditional pre operative assessment often begins. Co designed with patients, carers and clinical teams, the digital screening tool enables early stratification, shared decision making and timely optimisation for those with higher needs, while fast tracking low risk patients. Designed for scale and independently evaluated, the pathway reduces avoidable cancellations, improves equity and experience, and offers a transferable, system level model for safer, more patient centred perioperative care.

Project lead Daveena Meeks said: “I’m honoured and flattered to represent our team at our trust – it is a huge collaborative effort.

“So far, we’ve seen the work has made a difference and we’ve involved patients from every step of the pathway to make sure that the design from its infancy was represented by the people that we serve in our south London community.”