Top healthcare award for Norfolk and Waveney unscheduled care hub
Date: 24 March 2025A collaborative project between the region’s ambulance service and healthcare providers in Norfolk and Waveney has won a top industry award.
The Norfolk and Waveney Unscheduled Care Coordination Hub (UCCH) won the 'Best Contribution to the Improvement of Urgent and Emergency Care' award at the HSJ Partnership Awards 2025.
The UCCH is a joint collaboration between the East of England Ambulance Service NHS Trust (EEAST), NHS Norfolk and Waveney Integrated Care Board (ICB), and Integrated Care 24.
The purpose of the hub is to review 999 calls and coordinate alternatives to ambulance dispatches, enabling patients to receive appropriate care in their home and thus freeing up ambulance capacity to attend other emergencies.
Since its launch in the Norfolk and Waveney sector in September 2023, it has diverted 62% of calls from the ambulance service, avoiding unnecessary ambulance responses while improving patient outcomes and system efficiency.
Pete Bumphrey, EEAST Business and Partnerships Lead for Norfolk and Waveney, said: "This is great recognition for the work of the clinicians and admin support in the hub, and the way we have collaborated as providers in delivering the most appropriate care and advice to our patients.
"There is always still much more to do, and our next steps are to coordinate even more to the most appropriate providers, treat more over the phone and give our field clinicians the best possible single point of access (SPOA) available. We are so pleased to have received this award."
Ross Collett, Director of Urgent an Emergency Care for NHS Norfolk and Waveney ICB said: "This award is a wonderful recognition of the dedication and collaboration of everyone involved in the UCCH. By working together across ambulance services, NHS 111, GP Out of Hours, community teams, and hospitals, we are helping patients get the right care, in the right place, at the right time.
"It's making a real difference, supporting people to be treated at home where possible, easing pressure on ambulances and improving patient care. A huge thank you to all the teams who have worked so hard to make this happen."
The award was presented at a ceremony in central London on Thursday 20 March.
