Primary Care Physio Shortlisted for the 2025 HSJ Partnership Awards
CELEBRATING THE STRONGEST SUPPLIER RELATIONSHIPS WITH THE NHS
Primary Care Physio is delighted to announce that our ‘De-Prescribing Gabapentin and Opioids’ project, led by Lead FCP Carrieann Kirkup, has been shortlisted for the Primary and Community Care Project of the Year at the HSJ Partnership Awards, recognising an outstanding dedication to improving healthcare and effective collaboration with the NHS.
Now in their eighth year, the HSJ Partnership Awards, have become the most recognised and respected mark of the strongest relationships between suppliers and the NHS.
Following the thorough judging process, Primary Care Physio was included in 180+ organisations, projects and individuals that made the final shortlist amid 280+ entries logged for the 2025 awards programme.
Primary Care Physio integrates c 400 allied healthcare professionals into c 200 Primary Care Networks (PCNs) across 37 ICS areas in England. As ARRS teams in primary care have expanded, it’s been vital that multi-professionals work collaboratively as multi-disciplinary team members to enhance patient outcomes.
This project met broader NHS goals by addressing health inequalities among patients struggling with prescription drug addiction. It explored the collaborative partnership between a First Contact Physiotherapist and a clinical pharmacist to support patients to improve long-term health and prevent addiction in patients suffering with long-term musculoskeletal (MSK) chronic pain conditions. The success of this de-prescribing gabapentin and opioids project reduced unnecessary medical appointments and saved thousands of pounds in unneeded prescribing costs. Most importantly, it empowered patients through shared decision-making and personalised self-care to improve their quality of life. Our aim is to replicate this successful model on a national scale, with the ultimate objective of establishing an exemplary primary and community care pain management service.
Carrieann Kirkup, a Lead FCP at Primary Care Physio who led the project, comments, “We are delighted to be shortlisted for Primary and Community Care Project of the Year at the HSJ Partnership Awards 2025. It’s well known within our sector that the HSJ awards programme is a high profile and hugely respected platform to showcase the work and achievements of the many healthcare professionals who enter, and we’re delighted to have been recognised on this prestigious shortlist for a 2025 HSJ Partnership Award. We hope our entry might also inspire other colleagues to consider submitting their projects, too!”
The selected winners will be announced during the awards ceremony at Evolution London on 20th March 2025.
The 2025 awards judging panel was once again made up of a diverse range of highly influential and respected figures within the healthcare community, including; May Mengyu Li, Director of Efficiency, NHS England, Janos Suto, Deputy Director, Urgent and Emergency Care Analysis and Performance, DHSC, Amanda Pleavin, Managing Director, East of England Cancer Alliance, Jacqui Bunce, Programme Director – Strategic Partnerships, Planning and Estates, Lincolnshire ICS, Caroline Taylor, Chair, National Association of Primary Care, and Alan Duffell, Group Chief People Officer, The Royal Wolverhampton Trust & Walsall Healthcare Trust.
The full list of nominees for the 2025 HSJ Partnership Awards can be found at https://partnership.hsj.co.uk/finalists-2025