The partnership between Southern Health NHS Foundation Trust and Citizens Advice Winchester District has been shortlisted for an NHS Parliamentary Award.
Recognised in the Excellence in Mental Health Care, the initiative provides advice and support for mental health inpatients preparing for life outside the hospital.
Each patient is afforded a dedicated Citizens Advice case worker, offering advice on crucial aspects of daily life such as finance, housing, and legal matters.
This service aims to instill confidence in the patients for life after their hospital stay and significantly reduce the need for readmission.
The NHS Parliamentary Awards were established in 2018 to acknowledge the extraordinary contributions of staff, volunteers and others in the health and care sector.
This year the Citizens Advice/Southern Health project reached the final round, a prominent achievement given that 318 MPs across England proposed a combined total of 918 nominations.
Winchester's MP, Danny Chambers, said: "I am delighted that the ground-breaking partnership between Southern Health NHS Foundation Trust and Citizens Advice has been recognised and wish them luck in the final stage of this award.
"As a trustee of a mental health charity, I know how crucial helping people with social stressors, like debt, benefits problems or family disputes, are to improving mental health.
"This partnership has already seen fantastic outcomes for patients and inpatient NHS mental health services and I look forward to seeing how it progresses in the future."
In response to the news, Jon Pritchard, associate director of Population Health and equality for Southern Health, said: "I’m over the moon that our innovative partnership with Citizens Advice Winchester has been shortlisted for an NHS Parliamentary Award for 2024.
"Delivered through trusted and positive relationships, the impact and outcomes achieved through the partnership with, and for, service users is truly phenomenal."
A panel of national judges, compiled of key figures across the healthcare industry, will select the winners, to be announced on October 14.
The shortlisting marks one of two nominations for Southern Health which have succeeded in this year's NHS Parliamentary Awards.
The other is the Isle of Wight Podiatry Team in the category Excellence in Primary Care and Community Care Award.
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