NHS Cheshire and Merseyside and Wellbeing Enterprises CIC ‘Highly Commended’ at HSJ Partnership Awards 2025
Monday, 31 March 2025
NHS Cheshire and Merseyside (Halton Place) and Wellbeing Enterprises CIC are proud to announce that the We Connect social prescribing service has been Highly Commended in the Primary and Community Care Project of the Year category at the HSJ Partnership Awards 2025, in recognition of an outstanding dedication to improving healthcare and effective collaboration with the NHS.
With 23 separate categories this year, the winners were announced during a ceremony held at Evolution London, on 20 March 2025, hosted by Rachel Parris and Marcus Brigstocke. The event was attended by representatives from the NHS, and both the private and third sector as well as key players from non-clinical backgrounds, all coming together to celebrate the importance of positive partnerships and acknowledging how these underpin the future sustainability of the NHS.
The HSJ Partnership Awards are not just a celebration of success stories but also provide a high-profile platform which can help to shape the future of the new integrated health and care system.
Overall, the HSJ Partnership Awards 2025 – which is now in its 8th year - celebrated the achievements of a total of 185 finalists!
This highly competitive judging process strives to ensure that the most effective partnership innovations can be “celebrated, scaled and spread”, and provide both a short and long-term springboard for the adoption and rollout of successful initiatives.
The judging panel was made up of a diverse panel of 70+ highly influential and respected figures within the healthcare community. All finalists and winners were judged against 5 clear criteria: ambition; outcome; spread; value and involvement (including details of how relevant staff, patients and partnerships worked together to realise the success).
The We Connect social prescribing service delivered with NHS partners in Halton, supports around 3,500 patients each year. The service helps people with practical, social, and emotional needs, while building strengths and capabilities through tailored education and training. Wellbeing Link Workers co-create personalised wellbeing plans and connect individuals to local support. The service has led to demonstrable improvements, with 87% reporting improved wellbeing levels and 67% reduced anxiety levels. By easing pressure on GPs and tackling the root causes of poor health, We Connect delivers lasting outcomes for people and communities.
Anthony Leo, Place Director (Halton) at NHS Cheshire and Merseyside said:
“We are so proud to have been Highly Commended in the Primary and Community Care Project of the Year, which truly acknowledges the inspired efforts and ideas of our teams who worked so hard to ensure we could successfully deliver the We Connect social prescribing service.
“To be recognised in this way really is a great honour for all those involved. We look forward to building on this success and taking our learnings onto future projects and partnerships.”
Mark Swift, CEO and Founder at Wellbeing Enterprises CIC said:
“We are absolutely over the moon. Every year, we support thousands and thousands of people across the borough to build on their strengths and improve their wellbeing. This recognition is a testament to the hard work and dedication of our team at Wellbeing Enterprises and the strength of our partnerships.
“We’d like to extend a heartfelt thank you to all our partners across Halton and the Liverpool City Region for your continued support. We’re excited for the future as we continue to expand and innovate in primary care to deliver even greater impact.”
The winners and highly commended entries were selected following a rigorous two-stage judging process ahead of the HSJ Partnership 2025 awards ceremony. The full list of Winners and those Highly Commended can be found at partnership.hsj.co.uk/winners-2025.