Wrightington, Wigan and Leigh Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (WWL) is delighted to announce that its transformational BetterLives Programme has been shortlisted in the Data-Driven Transformation category at the HSJ Awards, recognising its outstanding contribution to healthcare.
Following a thorough judging process, this recognition celebrates the collaborative efforts of WWL, Wigan Council, and the Greater Manchester ICB, specifically the Wigan place team, alongside partners in primary care, community services, and the voluntary sector.
BetterLives is a pioneering, data-driven initiative designed to transform urgent and emergency care in Wigan. WWL and partners were shortlisted ahead of the official awards ceremony to be held later this year (19th November) with BetterLives standing out as a real “success story” worthy of a prized place on the panel’s shortlist.
Mary Fleming, Chief Executive Officer at WWL, said: "This nomination is testament to the real strength of partnership working across our health and care system. Bringing this collaboration to life has taken dedicated commitment from the Wigan locality place-based leadership, with support from the ICB, representing a genuinely transformative way of working and fostering a true ‘Team Wigan’ culture. We are proud of the progress achieved to date and, above all, the outcomes it will deliver for our patients and community in the future."
Sarah Brennan, Chief Operating Officer at WWL, said: “We are delighted to be shortlisted in the Data-Driven Transformation category at the HSJ Awards 2026. By uniting partners around a shared vision and leveraging our System Visibility Tool, we have created a single source of truth that enables real-time, joined-up decision-making across the entire care pathway. Our journey demonstrates the power of shared data, strong partnerships, and a real focus on resident outcomes. We are proud to be setting an example for integrated care.
“Thank you to everyone involved in making BetterLives a success. It will be a huge boost for our dedicated and hardworking teams, especially in a year when the competition was so tough with an unprecedented volume of entries from so many other equally deserving Trusts and individuals. Whatever the result ‘on the night’, we already feel like winners for getting this far and are so proud to have the opportunity to share our success with colleagues from across the entire sector, as well as showcasing everything we’ve learnt through implementing our project.”
BetterLives has made a significant impact, it has:
- Supported over 1,700 avoided hospital admissions per year
- Achieved a 13 percentage point improvement in Emergency Department 4-hour performance
- Reduced hospital stays by 2 days for many patients, enabling faster, safer discharges
- Enabled 180 more residents to benefit from home-based intermediate care annually
- Reduced the need for ongoing homecare packages and care home placements after discharge
- Fostered a strong ‘Team Wigan’ culture, breaking down organisational barriers and focusing on what matters most: helping residents live independently and receive the right care, in the right place, at the right time
1,300+ entries have been received for this year’s HSJ Awards, with 231 projects and individuals reaching the final shortlist. The high volume and exceptional quality of applications showcases the impressive levels of innovation and care continually being developed within the UK’s healthcare networks.
HSJ editor Alastair McLellan, added: “It always gives me great pleasure to congratulate our finalists at this stage of the judging process and this year is no exception as we acknowledge WWL for being shortlisted in the category of Data Driven Transformation.
“However, it’s always important to remember that the HSJ Awards are not just a celebration of success stories but also a platform to shape the future of the NHS.
“We can’t wait to welcome our finalists to the awards ceremony in November and to recognise and applaud such impressive achievements across the sector. Huge thanks also go to our headline partner, Lloyds Clinical, who share our mission of driving the standard of healthcare excellence and creating better patient experiences.”
The selected winners will be announced during the awards ceremony at Evolution London on 19th November 2026.
The event not only reflects the HSJ Awards’ enduring ethos of “sharing best practice, improving patient outcomes and innovating drivers of better service” but will also serve as a timely and well-deserved thank you to the sector.
The awards’ judging panel was once again made up of a diverse range of highly influential and respected figures within the healthcare community, as well as a range of esteemed board level executives from NHS Trusts across the UK.
The full list of nominees for the 2026 HSJ awards can be found at https://awards.hsj.co.uk/shortlist-2026 alongside details of the Awards partners at https://awards.hsj.co.uk/partners.