Projects tackling delays in diagnosis, using digital tools to support patients with cancer and use AI to improve care have earned Royal Devon teams national recognition at the 2026 HSJ Awards. 

The shortlisted projects span three categories, showing the different ways, colleagues are working to improve care and services across the Trust. 

The nominees include a programme transforming diagnosis and care for Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD), a project to introduce a digital platform to support cancer patients with personalised care and support, and the Ambient Voice Technology programme that aims to  help provide 15,000 more outpatient appointment each year to reduce waiting times for patients. 

The HSJ awards received over 1300 entries this year, placing our teams’ work among the best in healthcare improvement and innovation across the UK. The winners will be announced at an awards ceremony on 19 November 2026. 

IBD programme shortlisted for improving diagnosis and care  

An innovative NHS programme improving how people with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) are diagnosed and treated has been shortlisted the Clinical Pathway Redesign Award category at this year’s HSJ Awards. 

Developed over more than a decade, a whole-system redesign of the regional IBD diagnostic pathway is transforming care for people living with the debilitating gut condition. 

Led by the Royal Devon and the University of Exeter, the initiative has focused on redesigning the IBD diagnostic pathway across the region. This includes using digital health records to identify people who may have IBD sooner, supporting faster access to specialist clinics and dedicated endoscopy slots, and improving laboratory processes. 

This redesign has made a significant difference, cutting referral-to-treatment time from 58 days to 34 days. It has also been linked with a 40% reduction in people coming to hospital as emergencies, and a 68% reduction in people needing surgery in the first year after diagnosis. 

Read more about the programme here

Cancer Care Companion for digitising patient care 

Royal Devon Cancer Services has been shortlisted for pioneering Care Companion in Cancer care. The MY CARE feature gives patients personalised information and support in one accessible place, helping them stay connected with clinical teams throughout their cancer pathway. 

By providing 24/7 access to pre-assessment tools for cancer drug treatments (including for chemotherapy, targeted therapy, immunotherapy and hormonal therapy), patients arrived at appointments better informed, clinicians reported that they spent less time on basic information giving and managed more specific questions from the patient. It has also released nurse capacity to deliver more timely treatment. 

Pilot feedback showed that having information in one place helped reduce anxiety, with patients in rural communities finding it particularly valuable. One 84-year-old patient said the time, travel and parking savings were vital because they lived two hours from hospital. 

Ambient Voice Technology programme shortlisted for using AI to enhance care quality and efficiency  

Royal Devon’s Ambient Voice Technology (AVT) programme has been shortlisted in the HSJ Awards for a pilot to evaluate and introduce speech-to-text artificial intelligence (AI) to capture consultations and produce accurate notes and letters for clinician approval.  

Since September 2025, AVT has supported more than 40,000 outpatient consultations, saving around five minutes for a new appointment and two minutes for a follow-up. These time savings are helping services recover administrative time and improve clinic capacity to see more patients and reduce waiting lists. It is also helping to reduce documentation burden and improve care; clinicians can focus more fully on the patient rather than the screen. 

Now live across every doctor-led outpatient clinic at the Royal Devon, the pilot and rollout has been carefully evaluated in partnership with the NIHR HealthTech Research Centre in Sustainable Innovation and the University of Exeter, to understand how safe, collaborative AI can support better patient experience, staff wellbeing and a practical blueprint for wider NHS adoption. 

Visit our Excellence and Innovation pages to learn more about exciting projects taking place across the Trust