East Midlands mental health service for cancer patients named finalist in two categories at prestigious HSJ awards

This recognition highlights the exceptional work and innovation demonstrated by the EMCA CPH, which is hosted by the Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust and supported by the NIHR ARC East Midlands. It is a testament to the team’s dedication to driving healthcare excellence.

This year’s awards attracted more than 1,250 entries from across the health sector. With only 245 projects and individuals making it through to finalists, the competition has been incredibly tough, demonstrating the impressive scale of talent, commitment and impact across the NHS and wider healthcare landscape.

The EMCA CPH's entries were selected following a rigorous judging process and has been recognised as a standout example of excellence in healthcare delivery.

The 2025 awards judging panel was once again made up of a diverse range of highly influential and respected figures within the healthcare community, including Matthew Style, Director General, Secondary Care and Integration at the Department of Health & Social Care, Mark Cubbon, Chief Executive Officer at the Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust and Amanda Doyle, National Director for Primary Care and Community Services at NHS England,  as well as a range of esteemed chief executives from NHS Trusts across the UK.

Dr James Rathbone, Consultant Clinical Psychologist and EMCA CPH Service Co-Lead said: “We are honoured to be the finalists for the Digitising Patient Care and Provider Collaboration of the Year at the HSJ Awards 2025. This is a proud moment for our team, whose hard work and passion for improving healthcare have been extraordinary. To be recognised among so many outstanding initiatives is already a win in itself.”

Dr Felicity Gibbons, Principal Clinical Psychologist at the EMCA CPH and East Midlands Prehabilitation Project Lead said: “We’re thrilled to be able to share our journey and learnings with others across the sector, and to celebrate what’s possible when we come together to deliver better care.”

The EMCA CPH developed from a small pilot project into an efficient and effective specialist digital mental health service in a physical health setting. The link between physical and mental health is often overlooked despite higher mental ill health prevalence in those with long-term health conditions such as cancer. 

Cases can have increased complexity due to co-morbidity and the need for effective and efficient services is high due to high-cost implications of reduced engagement or access to treatment. 

The service was developed to improve access for mental health support for those living with cancer and beyond, while meeting the challenges of covering a wide geographic and socio-economic diverse population.

The EMCA CPH has made use of digital technology to improve access to those who previously did not have a service available. The service has achieved recovery rates in the 99th centile for anxiety and depression when benchmarked against national statistics. Drop-out rates are half of what is typical for mental health services. 

These results have been found to be consistent across all 10 categories in the index of multiple deprivation. HSJ recognition has helped to raise awareness of delivering effective remote mental health services.

Alastair McLellan, HSJ Editor, commented: “On behalf of all my colleagues, it gives me great pleasure to congratulate EMCA CPH on being finalists in the Digitising Patient Care and Provider Collaboration of the Year categories. All of the applications represent the ‘very best of the NHS’ and often leave our esteemed panel of judges with an impossible choice! 

“Year on year the number of entrants continue to rise which I find so encouraging and is testament to the effect that HSJ Awards can have on improved staff culture and morale. 

“We’re all very much looking forward to welcoming our finalists to the awards ceremony in November, celebrating their impressive achievements and jointly acknowledging our values of sharing best practice, improving patient outcomes and continuously driving for better service. But we never forget that the award ceremony is not just a celebration within a night, but a platform to recognise the hard work of all our NHS staff, all year round.”

Winners were announced at the awards ceremony on Thursday, November 20, 2025, at Evolution London. The event celebrates excellence in healthcare, promotes best practice and recognises the people and projects improving outcomes for patients nationwide.

For more details on the 2025 HSJ Awards, visit https://awards.hsj.co.uk/.
To learn more about our partners, visit https://awards.hsj.co.uk/partners.