MEDICAL staff have been celebrating the week after St Helens and Knowsley Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust were named Trust of the Year.

The trust were awarded the equivalent of at Oscar at the national Health Service Journal awards on Wednesday, October 6 beating more than 200 other trusts to the coveted top prize.

St Helens Star:

Hospital trust staff with host James Nesbitt at the awards

STHK has been awarded this prestigious award in recognition of their outstanding contribution to healthcare over the past 12 months, the Trust came out top in a HSJ analysis which used NHS staff survey data to assess performance based on whether employees say they would recommend their organisation as a place to work or receive treatment.

STHK also recorded the lowest level of discrimination against staff for an acute trust.

The HSJ Awards judges said: “This trust presented a superb all-round application.

"It was felt that this trust was strongly placed in the community with inspiring patient and staff stories. The trust demonstrated excellent staff engagement and development which is paying dividends in workforce retention.”

Ann Marr, Chief Executive of STHK Trust said: “I am immensely proud that we have been named Trust of the Year by the Health Service Journal.

"This caps what has been a truly exceptional year in the Trust’s history, following our outstanding CQC results and with the Trust top in the country for both the NHS Staff Survey and Patient Led Assessments. It is a true reflection of the hard work and commitment of our staff who work tirelessly to provide the highest standards of care to our patients.

"I would like to say a personal thank you to them all, they are now officially the best in the country.”