Luther Street Medical Centre and Buckinghamshire & Oxfordshire Mental Health Helpline were crowned winners in the Oxfordshire Health & Social Care Awards.

Run by the local papers Oxford Mail and Oxford Times, the awards recognise the talent and dedication of those who work in health and social care. They aim to champion teams and individuals that have gone above and beyond the call of duty to care for people during the Covid pandemic. The winners were revealed on Facebook on Friday, May 21, and will be featured in a special supplement in Oxford Mail on Thursday, May 27.

The 24/7 Mental Health Helpline for Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire won in the Mental Health category.

“I am so proud of everyone involved,” said Emma Hill, Service Manager for the Mental Health Urgent Care Pathway.

“Many staff from across our Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire services were temporarily redeployed from their usual roles to work on the helpline, including a number of shielding staff who could not undertake their usual work.  Some staff were rapidly retrained.

“The Helpline is a shining example of what can be achieved when people come together with a common purpose and desire to do the best for local people at the most extraordinary of times,” Emma noted.

Luther Street Medical Practice was named the GP Practice of Year. The practice provides health care for the homeless population in Oxford City. Practice Manager Caroline Blanchette said:

“This is a real reflection of the amazing work that all at Luther Street do supporting our patients and my thanks go out to you all for being such an amazing, professional team. To have the work that the practice does recognised is wonderful.”