Cambridgeshire NHS shortlisted for national NHS Parliamentary Awards

The two nominations, put forward by east of England MPs, include The Mental Health Joint Response Car initiative in the category of excellence in mental health care award and colleague Courtenay Schaffer for the NHS rising star award.

The NHS Parliamentary Awards calls on MPs around the country to find and nominate those individuals or teams working for the NHS, who they think have made the biggest improvements to health and care services in their constituencies, across ten categories. 

Courtenay, who began her NHS career as a junior administrator, has worked over the past five years to become executive assistant to the chief nursing officer Carol Anderson.

Courtenay Schaffer is up for the NHS Rising Star Award at this year’s national NHS Parliamentary Awards (Image: NHS Cambridgeshire)

Carol Anderson, chief nursing officer for Cambridgeshire & Peterborough Integrated Care System, said: “Courtenay constantly goes above and beyond what is expected and takes every opportunity she can to learn about the NHS and importantly about how to make it better for patients and staff.

“She is a very valued member of the team and ensures that everyone is heard and often speaks up on behalf of others.”

Also nominated, The Mental Health Joint Response Car initiative is put forward for the excellence in mental health care award category.

The Mental Health Joint Response Car initiative is put forward for the excellence in mental health care award category. (Image: NHS Cambridgeshire)

The scheme provides mental health help and support when the police are called out to people in crisis.

It is funded by NHS Cambridgeshire & Peterborough, part of the Integrated Care System and provides expert mental health staff from Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust (CPFT) who attend callouts alongside police officers from Cambridgeshire Constabulary in two specialist response cars.

The success of the scheme is due to having a trained mental health specialist on hand that can help calm a situation and, in many cases, can avoid police using their powers to detain people, or unnecessary conveying to hospital.

Detective Inspector Dan Cooper, of Cambridgeshire Constabulary, said: “It’s fantastic news that the mental health car has been nominated for this award.

“The scheme helps to get specialist care to those in mental health crisis as soon as possible. As well as this, it frees up vital police resource and helps to take pressure off local NHS.

“With so many hours of officers’ time taken up dealing with incidents which involve mental health, and demand for our services at an all-time high, this is an excellent scheme that benefits everyone.”

Jamie Secker, service manager for CPFT, said: “To have been shortlisted in the awards is a tribute to the entire team.

“It’s a great example of how mental health practitioners and the police – together with our commissioners – are working in partnership to improve the care and treatment of those in mental health crisis.

“Many incidents that police get called out to involve someone with a mental health issue, so to have our staff working alongside frontline officers has been a very welcome move.

“Our staff can offer instant expert support to someone who is experiencing a mental health crisis. Having a nurse who knows what to do often puts people at ease when they’re feeling at their most vulnerable.

“We recognise that police officers are stretched, so if we’re able to speed up some of the processes and take on some of the referral paperwork, it frees them up to do other important tasks.

“We’re really proud of this partnership, and the feedback we’ve had from the people we’ve been called out to has been really encouraging.”

Both nominations will now go head-to-head with other winners from across the country for a national award, presented at a ceremony in Westminster, London, on July 5.