Leeds City Council chose Forward Leeds as its ‘Partner of the Year’ at their 2022 Awards for Excellence.
The alcohol and drug service had already won Partner of the Year at the council’s Adults and Health Directorate awards in November so was nominated to go through to the council-wide Corporate Awards for Excellence.
Forward Leeds Area Manager Anne-Marie McMullan said: “This is an honour and it completes what has been a really amazing year overall for our service.
” We’ve learned a lot during the pandemic and come out with an even stronger service.
“We are growing and developing thanks to the additional OHID investment in treatment services nationally that was announced in May.
“Over the summer we were rated Outstanding by the CQC a rating very few services achieve.
“So far this year almost 1600 people have successfully completed treatment with our service.”
The awards ceremony took place at Leeds Civic Hall and was hosted by the Chief Executive of Leeds City Council Tom Riordan. Forward Leeds was presented its award by Cllr Salma Arif, the council’s Executive Member for Public Health and Active Lifestyles.
In his nomination, Ian Street, the Commissioning Programme Leader of the Adults and Health Directorate at Leeds City Council, wrote: “More people successfully complete treatment in Leeds than anywhere else in the country.
“We are nominating Forward Leeds for the outstanding contribution that the service makes to support people to recover from substance use. The service is high performing, high quality and works in partnership across the city. We could not wish for a better partner to work with and deliver outcomes for the people of Leeds.”
The other nominees for Partner of the Year were:
- From the City Development Directorate – Leeds 2023
- From the Communities, Housing and Environment Directorate – Sandra McLean and Litter Free Leeds
- From the Resources Directorate – Vital Energi (Highly Commended)
Photo above shows from left to right: Area Manager Cath Brogan, Service Manager James Barrie, Operational Manager Anne Hobbs, Team Manager Kim Kaur and Area Manager Anne-Marie McMullan.