Hunter New England Local Health District Excellence Awards
The 2025 Excellence Awards celebrate the best of clinical excellence, quality, innovation, improvement, and outstanding achievements of staff members across our district.
These awards feed directly into the NSW Health Awards, with an ongoing focus to meet the strategies in Future Health, a roadmap on delivering health care services from 2022 to 2032 in NSW.
The awards support our aim of delivering:
- outcomes that matter most to patients and the community.
- a personalised and sustainable health system that invests in wellness and is digitally enabled.
Award categories
The award categories follow two streams:
- High-Value Health Care Awards (team awards) that recognise teams improving and innovating models of care through service delivery.
- Achievement Awards (individual awards) acknowledge the outstanding performance and contribution of individual colleagues and volunteers.
Key dates
| Entries open | 10 February 2025 |
| Entries close | 2 May 2025 |
| Finalists announced | 23 July 2025 |
| Winners announced | 9 September 2025 |
Sponsorship packages
We invite our partners to join us in acknowledging the hard work, innovation, and dedication of our staff by sponsoring the 2025 awards.
Sponsorship packages are as follows.
Platinum $15,000 (+GST) | Gold $7,000 (+GST) | Silver $3,000 (+GST) |
|---|---|---|
| Major partner | Gold partner | Silver partner |
| Company logo included on all internal and external channels* in the lead-up and post award ceremony. 300 words to promote your organisation and link to your company page featured on our website. | Company logo included on all internal and external channels* in the lead-up and post award ceremony. 200 words to promote your organisation and link to your company page featured on our website. | Company logo included on all internal and external channels* in the lead-up and post award ceremony. 100 words to promote your organisation and link to your company page featured on our website. |
| Exclusive naming rights for 2 award categories. | Exclusive naming rights for 1 award category. | |
| 3 tickets to the awards ceremony. Company logo displayed. Opportunity to present the winning trophies for the categories you sponsored. Acknowledgement by the MC throughout the event. Opportunity to present an opening address. | 2 tickets to the awards ceremony. Company logo displayed. Opportunity to present the winning trophies for the categories you sponsored. Acknowledgement by the MC throughout the event. | Company logo displayed. Acknowledgement by the MC throughout the event. |
| Acknowledgement as platinum partner across all internal and external channels*, including on 2 videos showcasing the winning projects you sponsored, to share on your own channels. One-on-one audience with the Chief Executive, arranged post-event. | Acknowledgement as gold partner across all internal and external channels*, including on 1 video showcasing the winning project you sponsored, to share on your own channels. | Acknowledgement as a sponsor across all internal and external channels.* |
*Channels may include but are not limited to company website, employee intranet, broadcast
emails to 18,000 staff members and social media channels such as Facebook and LinkedIn.
If you’re interested in supporting our awards, please contact the Strategic Relations and Communications team.
2024 Team finalists and winners
Chief Executive's Award
Environmental Sustainability
- Creating Sustainability Culture at Tamworth Hospital – Administration and Work, Health and Safety, Tamworth Hospital
- Gloves Off! Clean Hands. Safe for All – Infection Prevention Service, John Hunter Hospital
- Outfits to Fitouts – Allied Health, John Hunter Hospital and Rankin Park Centre [Winner]
Excellence in Aboriginal Healthcare
- Little Ears, Deadly Care – ENT Outpatients Service, John Hunter Hospital and Audiology Service, John Hunter Children’s Hospital [Winner]
- Belmont Hospital Cultural Garden – Belmont Hospital
Excellence in Multicultural Healthcare
- A Video Paints a Thousand Words – Multicultural and Refugee Health Services
- Embedding Health Equity to Regional Settlement – Multicultural and Refugee Health Services
- Interpreting Oral Health – Virtually! – Oral Health Services [Winner]
Excellence in the Provision of Mental Health Services
- Dhuruulin Yabangka Yimamulin 'Leading the way to healing' – Mater Mental Health Centre [Winner]
- Farmgate Support Program – Farmgate Service
- Supporting Mental Health in Residential Aged Care – Older People’s Mental Health Service
Health Innovation
- An Open Door: A Crisis Response to VAN in ED – Violence, Abuse and Neglect, John Hunter Hospital
- Enhanced Prehospital Acute Stroke Triage – Acute Stroke Service, John Hunter Hospital [Winner]
- Impact of the HNE Outpatient Telestroke Network – Neurology Department, John Hunter Hospital
Health Research
Keeping People Healthy
- Mobile Dental Van Program - A Vehicle for Change – Oral Health Services [Winner]
- Morisset Menu Revamp: Elevating Consumer Care – Psychiatric Rehabilitation Services, Morisset Hospital
- The Family Care Cottage ‘Walking Group’ – Family Care Cottage Maitland
Patient Safety First
- Second Wave Overdue Surgery Recovery – Patient Services, Tamworth Hospital
- What’s in a Call? The Impact of Follow-up Phone Calls – Nursing and Midwifery Research Centre [Winner]
People and Culture
- Allied Health Rural Generalist Program – Allied Health Directorate
- Expansion: Diabetes Alliance Program Plus – Diabetes Alliance Program Plus
- Reducing Aggression and Violence within the Peel Sector – Administration and Work, Health and Safety, Tamworth Hospital [Winner]
Transforming Patient Experience
- All Together Now: Coordinating Care for Kids – Clinical Practice Improvement and Innovation Unit - Children, Young People and Families [Winner]
- I can finally see my Diabetes – Integrated Chronic Care for Aboriginal People Program
- Reuniting Tiny Babies and Families in the Home – Newborn Services, John Hunter Children’s Hospital
2024 Individual finalists and winners
Collaborative Staff Member of the Year
- Dimity Merrick – Paediatric Social Work, John Hunter Children’s Hospital
- Helen Adams – Palliative Care, Belmont Hospital
- Jeanette Lacey – Medical Services, John Hunter Hospital [Winner]
Volunteer of the Year
- Eddie Whitham, Multicultural Access Committee, Tamworth Hospital [Winner]
- Fay Smith, Volunteer Auxiliary, Belmont Hospital
- Virginia Slatter, John Hunter Children’s Hospital
External awards
These awards focus on quality improvement, research and partnerships. If you would like to add any relevant awards to this list, email HNELHD-ResearchOffice@health.nsw.gov.au