THE chief executive of the county's NHS Trust has said the Health and Social Care Awards are a great way of ensuring mental health 'remains firmly on the local agenda."

The Herefordshire and Worcestershire Health and Care NHS Trust is supporting the Health and Social Care Awards 2021.

Run by Newsquest's Worcestershire titles, including the Worcester News, Malvern Gazette and Evesham Journal, the aim of the awards is to champion those teams and individuals that have gone above and beyond the call of duty to care for people during the Covid pandemic.

In April 2020 the Trust took over responsibility for mental health and learning disability services in Herefordshire, bringing opportunities for teams across Herefordshire and Worcestershire to build on existing partnerships to strengthen local services and improve patient care.

Sarah Dugan, chief executive at Herefordshire and Worcestershire Health and Care NHS Trust, said: “Mental Health has a much higher profile these days and awards like this are a great way of ensuring issues remain firmly on the local agenda. We want to continue working with the local community across Herefordshire and Worcestershire to make mental health support the best it can be and it is great to hear so many examples of outstanding practice across our area."Through our Now We’re Talking campaign we will also be raising the profile of local support, including services for people experiencing more common problems such as anxiety. You can contact the team yourself, you don’t even need to see your GP.

“It is great to be part of these awards for the first time, and we really look forward to working with the community here in Herefordshire to ensure we collectively build on the high standards of mental health support available.”

12 categories and nominations are open now at worcesternews.co.uk.