13 August 2024

King's Health Partners is delighted to announce that the Pain: Equality of Access to Care and Support in the Community (PEACS) project has been shortlisted for two categories at the HSJ Awards - the NHS Race Equality Award, and the Innovation and Improvement in Reducing Healthcare Inequalities Award.  

The PEACS project provides an alternative solution to supporting people living with chronic pain - particularly those from Black backgrounds who experience a number of health inequalities, greater barriers to care, and poorer outcomes compared to white people. PEACS uses a Bio-Psycho-Social and Lifestyle Medicine Framework to equip patients with new skills and knowledge so they can better manage their experience of living with chronic pain. In its first year PEACS supported a total of 597 people, 296 of those were people from black communities. 

This year’s awards saw HSJ receive more than 1350 entries, with 234 projects and individuals reaching the final shortlist. The high volume and exceptional quality of applications showcases the impressive levels of innovation and care continually being developed within the UK’s healthcare networks.  

Misha Gardner, PEACS Project Manager said: 

"Being shortlisted for a HSJ award has been one of the most defining moments in my career. This recognition highlights years of hard-work, passion, and determination in addressing health inequalities, and a commitment to codesigning and implementing a holistic lifestyle medicine approach to supporting people with chronic pain. The real reward comes from the impact we’ve seen in the patients’ lives, the bonds they’ve created with each other, and the improvements seen to their experiences, outcomes, and access. I’m honoured for the team but more so for being involved in an incredible process that has shone a light on chronic pain, and on the benefits of bio-psycho-social approaches to treatment. This is for the patients, we did it!”. 

Natalia Stepan, Mind & Body Programme Director said:

“We are all incredibly excited and grateful that the hard work and passion of everyone who has been involved with PEACS is being recognised in this way. PEACS is a fantastic programme that has made a real difference to patients, and it has huge potential to benefit many more.”   

HSJ editor Alastair McLellan, adds:

“It always gives me great pleasure to congratulate our finalists at this stage of the judging process and this year is no exception as we acknowledge the King’s Health Partners Mind & Body programme for being shortlisted in the categories of NHS Race Equality Award and the Innovation and Improvement in Reducing Healthcare Inequalities Award. However, it’s always important to remember that the HSJ Awards are not just a celebration of success stories but also a platform to shape the future of the NHS. We can’t wait to welcome our finalists to the awards ceremony in November and to recognise and applaud such impressive achievements across the sector. Huge thanks also go to our headline partner, Vodafone Business, who share our mission of driving the standard of healthcare excellence and creating better patient experiences.”  

The selected winners will be announced during the awards ceremony at Evolution London on 21 November 2024.  The event will not only reflect the HSJ Awards’ enduring ethos of “sharing best practice, improving patient outcomes and innovating drivers of better service” but will also serve as a timely and well-deserved thank you to the sector.  

The 2024 awards judging panel was once again made up of a diverse range of highly influential and respected figures within the healthcare community, including; Stephen Powis, National Medical Director, NHS England, Rosa Waddingham, Chief Nurse, Nottingham and Nottinghamshire ICB and Matthew Style, Director General, Secondary Care and Integration Department of Health & Social Care, as well as a range of esteemed Chief Executives from NHS Trusts across the UK.  

The full list of nominees for the 2024 HSJ awards is now available on their website alongside details of the Awards partners.