The West Yorkshire Vascular Service (WYVaS) has been awarded a High Commendation in the Provider Collaboration of the Year category at the 2022 Health Service Journal (HSJ) Awards. The prestigious award recognises the programme which brings together five acute hospital trusts together in a single, regional vascular service. 

WYVaS representatives attended the awards alongside West Yorkshire ICS, who won ICS of the Year for the second year in a row. 

The HSJ Awards provide an opportunity to shine a light on the outstanding efforts and achievements that colleagues and teams across the NHS, health and care deliver daily.

TV presenter David Walliams, along with hosts HSJ editor Alastair McLellan and Ellie Orton, Chief Executive, NHS Charities Together, announced the winners across 25 categories. There were a staggering 1,067 entries, with 219 projects and individuals making it to the final shortlist (from across 162 organisations).

WYVaS is a programme of The West Yorkshire Association of Acute Trusts (WYAAT). Its ethos is about bringing together the wide range of skills and expertise across West Yorkshire to work differently, be innovative and drive forward change to support patients.  

Its successful entry highlighted how an agreement was reached across the five hospital trusts to create a single, regional shared West Yorkshire Vascular Service (WYVaS). The ambition was to create a service that delivered outstanding, equitable care to the people of West Yorkshire.

The partnership links together vascular services between the five hospital trusts in the region:

• Airedale NHS Foundation Trust 
• Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust 
• Calderdale and Huddersfield NHS Foundation Trust 
• The Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust 
• The Mid Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust 

Sharon Senior, WYVaS Vascular Nurse Specialist, described the service in the entry: “Patients are getting better care, with fewer delays. By pooling resources across the patch, people are being seen and treated sooner.” 

Clare Vickers, Chief Nurse for WYVaS, said: “This is a wonderful achievement and I am so pleased at the recognition it gives to the incredible vascular teams across West Yorkshire.

“I am proud to work alongside such dedicated colleagues who always put the needs of our patients first. This commendation is a testament to them and a reflection of their hard work to provide the best possible service to patients across West Yorkshire.”

Lucy Cole, WYAAT Director, said: “I am thrilled that one of our programmes has been recognised nationally in the Provider Collaboration of the Year category. The WYVaS team whole-heartedly deserve this success and demonstrate the value of collaborative working between hospital trusts.”