The teams nominated for Patient Safety and Care Integration awards are the vangaurd of innovation in these areas. Read about them all in HSJ’s online supplement

When HSJ established the Patient Safety Awards in 2010, there was little public awareness of the issue. The same was true of integration when we launched the Care Integration Awards last year. Recently, both subjects have crowded on to news bulletins.

Some shocking care failures and cover ups have emerged. But, as Jeremy Hunt said recently, the NHS remains “one of the safest healthcare systems in the world”.

Can it do better? Of course − and it will. The 120 teams shortlisted for a Patient Safety Award are the vanguard of renewed focus on the issue.

Care integration has also found itself in the spotlight. There is − at last − a determination that people should no longer have to accept the artificial boundaries imposed by the NHS on their care. The teams shortlisted for the awards are among the first who should be thanked for making this happen.

You can see read about all the award winners in HSJ’s awards supplement.