The opportunities to progress are endless; you can choose to specialise in a particular setting, or train to qualify as a healthcare professional, such as a nurse or midwife. In some trusts, healthcare support workers have slightly different job titles such as healthcare assistant (or HCA), nursing assistant or midwifery assistant, depending on your chosen setting and the healthcare professionals you support.
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It’s that time of year again when we are preparing to celebrate the fantastic work that our support workers do each day and night in support of National Healthcare Support Worker day on 23 November 2025.
These awards are open to the health and social care support workforce across Joined Up Care Derbyshire – whether they’re in a care home, GP practice, the community, voluntary sector or a hospital setting.
The award winners will be contacted and presented with a certificate and a gift.
The Award Categories:
Unsung Hero Award
Many teams will have that person who consistently lives their organisational values, provides consistent exceptional care, or single acts of kindness, bravery or selflessness – it’s time to let them know how much they are valued.
New to Care Award
This award is for any new support worker who has joined the health and care sector within the last 12 months, and who is already delivering the very best standard of care. We are looking for someone who has excelled in their role and exhibits enthusiasm, confidence and a commitment to their on-going career development.
Going the Extra Mile Award
Do you know someone who not only does their best from day to day but has also done something extraordinary and gone over and above what is expected of them in their role? Someone who has thought outside the box to deliver innovative ideas or challenged ways of working which has led to an improvement in the care provided? We’d love to hear about how they have really made a difference or impact to service users, patients or their colleagues.
Health and social care student of the year
There are so many aspiring future heroes currently working hard and studying in their chosen field to get started in their caring career. Whether they are at college or university, studying any level of course from Level 2 health and social care to a degree in physiotherapy, and anything in between, as long as they are currently unregistered, you can nominate them for this award. Let’s recognise those shining stars who you know are going to make the best care providers in whatever role they go into after their studies.
Lifetime Achievement award
The lifetime achievement award recognises Healthcare Support Workers that have made it their mission to dedicate their life to caring throughout their career, demonstrating their skills and dedication to practice; whose contribution has had an outstanding impact on patients, service users, the public and the service.
Please click the link below to complete the nomination form: https://forms.office.com/e/NQQ0bBC1a3
The submission deadline is Friday 7 November 2025.
Please direct any queries to ddicb.joinedupcareers@nhs.net
The nominations are open to all Care workers, Healthcare Support Workers, Therapy Support Workers and unregistered workforce working in any Joined Up Care Derbyshire partner organisations including:
- University Hospitals of Derby & Burton
- Chesterfield Royal Hospital
- Derbyshire Community Health Services NHS Trust
- Derbyshire Healthcare NHS Trust
- DHU Healthcare
- East Midlands Ambulance Service (EMAS)
- Derby City Council
- Derbyshire County Council
- General Practice
- Any social care or voluntary sector organisation in Derby and Derbyshire
Nominations will be judged by an independent panel from the Careers team at Joined Up Care Derbyshire.
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