We’re incredibly proud to share that the Greater Manchester Urgent Primary Care Alliance (GMUPCA) has been named a regional winner at the NHS Excellence Awards 2026.
Recognised in the Working in Partnership category, this award reflects the scale and impact of joint working across our system. By bringing together NHS Trusts, the GM Integrated Care Board and North West Ambulance Service, GMUPCA is helping to deliver coordinated services that ease pressure on urgent and emergency care while improving outcomes for communities across Greater Manchester.
Speaking following the announcement, Rachael Ingram, GMUPCA UEC Programme Lead and Head of Clinical Operations at Mastercall Healthcare in Stockport, said:
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“We’re so proud to announce that the Greater Manchester Urgent Primary Care Alliance (GMUPCA) has won an NHS Excellence Award for Working in Partnership. naming them as a regional champion for:
Working closely with NHS Trusts, the GM Integrated Care Board and North West Ambulance Service, to design and deliver system‑wide services that reduce pressure on urgent and emergency care and ensure patients receive the right care first time.
These award‑winning programmes include the 24/7 GM Clinical Assessment Service, which handles over 200,000 cases a year, managing approximately 600 cases per day, saving over 91,000 ambulance response hours annually and safeguarding the NHS purse.
Other initiatives include the GM Emergency Dental Helpline and winter initiatives such as the GM Falls Response Service (as well as wider digital infrastructure offerings).
This award recognises the power of true partnership, shared leadership and collaboration to improve patient outcomes at scale across GM.”
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This recognition demonstrates the tangible difference that coordinated, system-wide working can make for patients across Greater Manchester.
A huge thank you to all our partners across the alliance:
Bardoc Limited, gtd healthcare, Mastercall Healthcare, Salford Primary Care Together, Wigan GP Alliance.
We now look forward to the next stage of national judging at NHS ConfedExpo in June.
To read the full media release from NHS Greater Manchester, click here.