Pride of DPT Awards 2026
Colleagues, teams and partners from across our organisation came together earlier this month for our annual Pride of DPT Awards. The event was a joyful and happy afternoon celebrating the outstanding achievements, compassion and dedication shown by our finalists.
Held at Westpoint Arena in Exeter, this year's awards recognised twelve winners across ten categories, shortlisted from more than 290 nominations. Our awards shine a light on the individuals and teams who go above and beyond every day to support patients, carers, colleagues and communities, as nominated by you.
Guests were greeted with a refreshing welcome soft drink in the afternoon sun, providing an opportunity for finalists and colleagues to meet and celebrate together before the awards ceremony began. Reflecting the season, this year's event featured a summer garden party theme, with vibrant posies of flowers provided (and grown) by New Leaf, transforming the venue into a colourful garden meadow.
View our Pride of DPT Awards film here.
The afternoon featured the presentation of awards and highly commended certificates by members of the executive team, alongside interactive entertainment and live music from the Sunflower Quartet lead by one of our colleagues Penny Rogers.
Katharine Harris, Associate Director of Culture, Development and Wellbeing, guided the afternoon as compère. Guests heard from inspirational speaker Benjamin Mee, who shared the remarkable story of how he and his family came to purchase Dartmoor Zoo - a journey that later inspired the award-winning film, We Bought a Zoo.
The celebrations continued with a traditional afternoon tea, including homemade finger sandwiches, scones with jam and cream and a selection of cakes. Guests also enjoyed refreshing New Leaf apple juice made with apples grown on site.
Sustainability is an important consideration in every Pride of DPT Awards event. We try to reduce our environmental impact by using local suppliers, minimising printed materials and sourcing local entertainment wherever possible.
This year, we partnered with a talented ceramicist from Ashburton, Cliff Ellis, to create handmade mugs and bowls for our winners. Rather than a traditional trophy, these unique pieces can be enjoyed every day. Our hope is that they will be used and enjoyed long after the event, providing a daily reminder of an outstanding achievement and the difference our staff make every day. If you'd like to read more about Cliff, you can find further information about his work, including a poem he wrote for us, in our awards programme.
While the awards celebrated our winners, the event was also an opportunity to recognise every finalist and highly commended nominee. Each person and team represented the values, commitment and care demonstrated by colleagues across our organisation every day, making a positive difference to the lives of the people we serve.
A huge congratulations to all of this year's winners and highly commended nominees.
Our winners and those who were highly commended are listed below:
Clinical Team of the Year
Winner: Teign Core Community Mental Health Team
Highly commended: Chichester House and MERs Pathway
Non-clinical Team of the Year
Winner: Clinical Application Support Team
Highly commended: East CAMHS Admin Team and Accommodation Office
Learner of the Year
Winner: Rafael Verdiguier Sanchez
Highly commended: Phillip Batten and Jess Raven
Inspirational Colleague Award — clinical
Winner: Aaron Shaw
Highly commended: Charlotte Maycock and Megan Waddle
Inspirational Colleague Award — non-clinical
Winner: Zero Jackson
Highly commended: Zoe Fischer and Katrina Barlow
Sustainability Award
Winner: Alex Watkins
Highly commended: Michael Hamlyn and Frances Evans
Together Award
Winner: Eastern Rehabilitation Team
Highly commended: Psychology and Additional Therapies Team and Tom Woodd
Partnership Award
Winner: North Devon Core Teams
Highly commended: Vaccination Team and Together Experts by Experience Network
Improvement Award
Winner: TReAT for Psychosis
Highly commended: Melatonin Project and SLC Pathway
Board Award
Winners: Sarah Goff, Louise Stokes, and Belvedere Ward and Hospiscare
Our digital awards programme provides further detail on all our finalists and their nominations.
Finally, a huge thank you to our sponsors, SunGift Solar, who sponsored the Sustainability Award, and Scutum, who sponsored the afternoon's entertainment. Their generous support helped make this year's awards a memorable celebration of the incredible people and teams who make a difference every day.
Whether nominated, shortlisted, highly commended or recognised through the stories shared on the day, every colleague celebrated at the Pride of DPT Awards or during the judging process reflects the compassion, innovation and dedication that makes our organisation such a special place to work.