News and events

Hertfordshire Community NHS Trust (HCT) is proud to announce that following the news that our Chief Medical Officer has been shortlisted for a HSJ Award 2025, the Trust's Children and Young People's Integrated Therapy (CYPT) Service has also been shortlisted for an award in the Early Intervention and Prevention for Children, Young People and Families category!

The CYPT Service's FOLLOW initiative - Top tips for talking in early years has been shortlisted for an award, in recognition of the exceptional work and innovation demonstrated by the team and a testament to the Children and Young People’s Integrated Therapy (CYPT) Service’s dedication to driving healthcare excellence.

This year’s awards attracted more than 1,250 entries from across the health sector. With only 245 projects and individuals making it through to the final shortlist, the competition has been incredibly tough, demonstrating the impressive scale of talent, commitment, and impact across the NHS and wider healthcare landscape.

The Trust’s Children and Young People's Speech and Language Therapy Early Years Team developed the 'FOLLOW' initiative in partnership with other key stakeholders to support early intervention and prevention and empower parents and professionals to support children's communication skills. 

Children's communication skills underpin social interaction and learning as well as predicting children's school success and social wellbeing. FOLLOW is an acronym for six key evidence-based interaction strategies that parents, carers and professionals can use to support the development of children's communication skills.

Karen Woollard, Children and Young People’s Integrated Therapy Services Manager, HCT said:

“We are honoured to be shortlisted for the Early Intervention and Prevention for Children, Young People and Families Award at the HSJ Awards 2025. This recognition shines a light on our Speech and Language Therapy Early Years Team and the families, carers and professionals we partner with every day.

“Children’s communication skills underpin how they connect, play and learn, and are strong predictors of later school success and social wellbeing. That’s why we created FOLLOW so that parents, carers and early years practitioners can weave simple, practical approaches into everyday routines to support children’s communication from the very start.

“Whatever the outcome on the night, we’re excited to share our journey and learning with colleagues across the sector, and to celebrate what’s possible when we come together around early intervention and prevention to deliver better care and brighter starts for children.”

HSJ Editor Alastair McLellan commented:

“On behalf of all my colleagues, it gives me great pleasure to congratulate HCT on being shortlisted as a finalist in the category of Early Intervention and Prevention for Children, Young People and Families. All of the applications represent the ‘very best of the NHS’ and often leave our esteemed panel of judges with an impossible choice! 

“Year on year the number of entrants continue to rise which I find so encouraging and is testament to the effect that HSJ Awards can have on improved staff culture and morale.

“We’re all very much looking forward to welcoming our finalists to the awards ceremony in November, celebrating their impressive achievements and jointly acknowledging our values of sharing best practice, improving patient outcomes and continuously driving for better service. But we never forget that the award ceremony is not just a celebration within a night, but a platform to recognise the hard work of all our NHS staff, all year round.”

Winners will be announced at the awards ceremony on 20th November 2025 at Evolution London. The event celebrates excellence in healthcare, promotes best practice, and recognises the people and projects improving outcomes for patients nationwide.

For more details on the 2025 HSJ Awards shortlist , visit https://awards.hsj.co.uk/