Southport and Formby Health Wins National Staff Experience and Wellbeing Award

Southport and Formby Health has been named the winner of the Staff Experience and Wellbeing Award at the Picker Experience Network (PEN) Awards 2026.

Held at the University of Birmingham on 1 October, the awards brought together organisations from across the UK and beyond that are committed to improving the experiences of patients, families and staff throughout health and social care.

The event was made even more special as Southport and Formby Health was also shortlisted as a finalist in the Equity in Experience and Personalised Care categories, recognising the breadth of work taking place across our services.

The winning award recognised our 'You Said, We Did' initiative, a programme developed alongside Southport and Formby Primary Care Network to support staff wellbeing and create a positive workplace culture across services caring for more than 129,000 local residents.

Built around listening to staff and acting on feedback, the initiative has introduced a range of improvements, including co-created values, flexible working opportunities, menopause support, wellbeing activities and increased leadership engagement. The programme reflects our commitment to creating an environment where staff feel valued, supported and able to thrive.

The judges praised the initiative, describing it as:

“A strong and thoughtfully developed workforce wellbeing initiative, demonstrating sustained commitment to staff voice, co-production and responsive leadership.”

They added:

“It's great when organisations demonstrate how much they value their staff, which is what this project shows by putting the wellbeing of their staff into the everyday. A brilliant initiative!”

To be recognised at a national level among hundreds of entries is a fantastic achievement and a testament to the dedication, passion and hard work of teams across Southport and Formby Health.

Congratulations to everyone involved in this award-winning initiative and thank you for everything you do to support colleagues, patients and our communities.