The next national NHS Unsung Heroes awards got underway today right here - on Yorkshire Day -  at our very proud Trust.

The awards are to recognise the vast range of non-clinical roles in the NHS - and they make up half the NHS staff.

Helen Barker's famous nails were coated pink for the day and our Chair Philip Lewer wore a pink shirt for the first time for 10 years in honour of the launch day.

The awards are now in their sixth year and unique in that they are only national awards where NHS staff can nominate purely their non-clinical colleagues and volunteers for recognition.

There are 11 categories in all, covering a variety of roles such as admin and clerical, IT, estates, corporate, apprentices and volunteers. We've had an army of CHFT colleagues promoting the launch at both HRI and CRH and also at Broad Street Plaza and Oak House, Brighouse.

Our Chief Operating Officer, Helen Barker, said the awards held a special place in her heart and has been delighted and proud to be the lead for this year’s national launch. She said: “ A lot of my role here at CHFT is all about performance and us achieving what we should be in terms of providing  quality, safe care with compassion for our patients and their families. Yet, I know we can only do what we do because of all the hard work from all colleagues which I very much appreciate and that is why these awards are so special to me personally.

"I also want to give a huge shout out to the 50+ colleagues who have come forward to get out and about across our sites explaining what the awards are all about. We wouldn't have had such a great launch were it not for them".

And Don Tomlinson, who heads-up the Unsung Hero Award  charity said: "It's been an overwhelming launch, just amazing and the first time we've done it across two sites".

You can make your nomination and see all the category information on the Unsung Heroes website. Closing date is Sept 30th. Last year there were more than 500 entries, and Helen's PA Sue Laycock was among the finalists. Sue and Helen's enthusiasim for the awards led to us being the host for this year's launch.