Judging process

Judges are selected from across the NHS and wider healthcare sector. Judges contribute valuable time and effort to work through hundreds of entries, reviewing against strict criteria and attributing scores against a transparent system aimed at rewarding and recognising the best of the health and care sector across the UK.

Our judging takes place over two stages. Each stage is designed to provide a fair and transparent process. Have a look at the key dates page for more information. Please note if you are chosen as a finalist by our judges you will need to present (online) to our judging panel. The final dates per category will be published soon.

Stage 1 - Remote Judging: once the entry phase closes all the submissions will be sent to our judges for online review over 5 weeks. Check the scoring matrix to see the criteria the judges will use. 

Stage 2 - Live Presentations: once the shortlist is announced in January and all finalists will be invited to give a presentation to our judging panels. This will take place in w/c 23 March 2026. The exact dates for each category will be available on the key dates page soon.