Integrated Health Awards 2008 - now open

There are four awards on offer this year, looking for the best integrated health projects across the UK. Any organisation – whether a school, workplace, healthcare or community service – can apply if they take an approach that focuses on the whole person and provide an environment that helps users achieve optimal health and wellbeing.

The four categories are:

1.  The England Award, Sponsored by the Department of Health
2   The Northern Ireland Award, Sponsored by the Department of Health, Social Services and Public Services, Northern Ireland
3.  The Wales Award, Sponsored by the Welsh Assembly Government
4.  The Scotland Award, Sponsorship tbc

The winner of each category will receive prize money of £2,500.

For details of how to enter the awards and apply online please click here.  The closing date for applications is Friday 29 August 2008 at 5pm.

The Foundation’s Chief Executive Kim Lavely said: ‘The Integrated Health Awards shine a light on the pioneers and trailblazers of integrated health and set the pace for change in the way we see health. Through the awards we want to share success stories of how integrated health can make an enormous difference to individuals and communities. This will inspire others in turn to set up integrated health projects and give existing projects tips and ideas about what works and how to meet the challenges of this kind of innovative healthcare.’

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Media contact

Rachel Baker at The Prince’s Foundation for Integrated Health, 020 3119 3114, Rachel.baker@fih.org.uk

Notes to editors

Notes to editors

1.         The Prince’s Foundation for Integrated Health:

The Foundation is a UK charity championing an integrated approach to health. It works towards a culture of health and wellbeing with people and communities taking more responsibility for their own health, and where health professionals collaborate and share learning in the best interests of their patients. The Foundation seeks to inspire, engage and support health practitioners to work together to provide the widest possible patient choice.  It also works with health policy makers to help create a health service where the best of all healthcare is the norm.

2.         Integrated health:

There’s a widespread belief that integrated health it means a health approach which brings together the best of mainstream medical science with complementary therapies and medicines, but there’s more to it than that.  Integrated health also emphasises a preventative approach, educating people about how they can make healthy choices and achieve the best possible state of health and wellbeing. It also treats people ‘holistically’ – so instead of seeing the body as a machine made up of components that sometimes break down, it sees the way that our emotional and mental wellbeing affect our health, and the influence on health of our lifestyle and environment.

3.         Judging panel (confirmed so far):

Dr William Bird, Health Advisor for Natural England
Jennifer Harper-Deacon, award winning health journalist
June Sebley, Director of Development at Henley Management College
Kim Lavely, Chief Executive of The Prince's Foundation for Integrated Health.

4.         Entry criteria:

1.   You consider health in the widest sense, taking into account things like lifestyle, environment and emotional wellbeing
2.  Your service is innovative and has a demonstrable impact
3.  You have a plan for sustainability and can demonstrate how others could replicate your model
4.  You involve service users in the delivery and ongoing development of your project
5.  You tailor services to the needs of users – and don’t believe in a ‘one size fits all’ approach
6.  You focus on helping people stay healthy and take ownership of their own care
7.  You have built positive relationships with other parts of your community (e.g. local NHS trust, schools and local organisations)
8.  You undertake regular audit and evaluation to ensure that you are meeting the needs of users, and can provide evidence of this
9.  You strive to ensure that your service is financially and physically accessible to the widest range of users possible
10.  You have a robust governance structure and provide a supportive and nurturing environment for staff

5.         Pictures of previous award winners and the 2007 awards ceremony are available on request from The Prince’s Foundation for Integrated Health. Contact as above.