NHS Midlands and East is being celebrated as a pioneer in using digital technology to transform health care.

The cluster has won an array of national awards for its innovative work in making the NHS more transparent and integrated - key ambitions in the Department of Health’s information strategy.

In February 2012, NHS local – a ground-breaking service funded by NHS Midlands and East with the aim of creating a sustainable source of digital services to benefit both patients and staff – scooped a major accolade for helping break down barriers in using the web to provide healthcare.

It won the Healthcare Engagement Strategy 2012 Digital Health Services Award, judged by a panel of more than 30 experts from around the world. Since launching in 2009, the Healthcare Engagement Strategy Awards have become a forum for sharing and identifying the world’s most effective strategies in healthcare engagement.

In March, Maverick TV – head of the consortium that created NHS local – landed the Partnership with the NHS gong in the Medilink UK Healthcare Business Awards 2012.

In June, Cambridge Healthcare, an attic start-up which began just a year ago, won a health innovation award for designing the world's first healthcare applications store.

It was named IT Innovator of the Year in the HealthInvestor Awards 2012 for its pioneering smartphone-enabled web portal which will revolutionise the way patients and medics share information, enabling patients to take control of their personal medical records.

How are you? was developed a year ago by 29-year-old Dawson King and will, for example, enable blood test results to be sent directly to a patient’s electronic health record, as well as facilitating online medical consultations.

NHS local Director of Strategy Robin Vickers said the awards reflected the Midlands’ position at the heart of the NHS revolution. “The hotbed of digital health innovation within the Midlands and East is leading the way in the NHS and private health markets at the moment, and it is great to be recognised through these awards.

“The digital services being rolled out from within the Midlands sit at the heart of the revolution in the NHS, and underpin the NHS's values and constitution – bringing patients and their families closer to services and shaping new services through those connections.”

Dr Stephen Dunn, Director of Policy and Strategy, NHS Midlands and East, said: “NHS Midlands and East is revolutionising patient and customer experience.

“One of the ways we aim to achieve this is through investing in innovative digital technologies that give patients more control of their health and more say in their care. By doing so we are accelerating the delivery of the national information strategy. We are delighted our pioneering work in this area is being celebrated.”