The Patient Panel honoured to receive the Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service
The Patient Panel at The Princess Alexandra Hospital NHS Trust (PAHT) are honoured to have received the Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service.
They have been awarded the accolade in recognition of their dedication to representing the voice of patients at PAHT. 
They have been acknowledged for the full range of their work to benefit patients, including hosting conferences, community meetings and directly supporting the care of patients by volunteering their time to initiatives to improve patient experience, such as offering tea and cakes to long stay patients in hospital. The panel has established strong networks and relationships with voluntary organisations, colleges, schools and local businesses in joint efforts to improve services at the hospital.
The Queen’s Award is the highest award a voluntary group can receive in the UK.
The Patient Panel is one of 230 charities, social enterprises and voluntary groups to receive the prestigious award this year. The number of nominations remains high year on year.
The Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service aims to recognise outstanding work by volunteer groups to benefit their local communities. It was created in 2002 to celebrate the Queen’s Golden Jubilee.
Recipients are announced each year on 2 June, the anniversary of the Queen’s Coronation. Award winners this year are diverse, including volunteer groups from across the UK.
Representatives of The Patient Panel will receive the award from Mrs Jennifer Tolhurst, Lord Lieutenant of Essex later this summer. Furthermore, two volunteers from The Patient Panel will attend a garden party at Buckingham Palace in May 2021, along with other recipients of this year’s award.
Ann Nutt, chair of The Patient Panel at The Princess Alexandra Hospital NHS Trust, said: “We are honoured to have received this prestigious award, which means so much to our passionate and dedicated team of volunteers.
“Listening to patients and representing their voice is our vocation and we are proud to support our local hospital in this way. We engage in different ways with the public and staff and enjoy working with many statutory organisations to improve services for patients.
“Hearing that we had been successful in receiving this award was a fantastic moment for us, and great recognition for all of our volunteers.”
Lance McCarthy, chief executive of The Princess Alexandra Hospital NHS Trust, said: “We are delighted to see the Patient Panel receive this wonderful and well-deserved award.
“Their enthusiasm and effort to support us in our work to continually improve our services in response to feedback from our patients is invaluable.
“Congratulations to the Patient Panel, and I look forward to building on this amazing foundation as we engage with our community about our plans for a new hospital for Harlow and the surrounding areas.”
The right honourable Robert Halfon, Member of Parliament for Harlow, said: "Whether it be in my role as an MP, a visitor or as a patient, I've seen the incredible work that the Patient Panel does. They have made a huge difference to the patient experience and our appreciation will never be able to match the work they've done.
“The work undertaken by Ann Nutt, John Woods and the rest of the team is invaluable to the local community. No one chooses to go to hospital, and it is the work of this team that improves so many areas of healthcare.”
Pictured are:
- The Patient Panel (pictured before the COVID-19 pandemic and the implementation of social distancing regulations)
- Ann Nutt, chair of the patient panel