The Pathways App Team of occupational therapists and service users at the Centre won the ‘Empowering Patients Through Digital’ category at the HSJ Digital Awards.
The ceremony was held on Tuesday, 19 May 2026 at the International Convention Centre in Birmingham. The Awards recognise outstanding use of digital technology across the NHS and wider health and care sector.
The victory follows on from acknowledgements at other ceremonies in previous years. Last year, the project was ‘Highly Commended’ at the national HSJ Awards in the ‘Mental Health Innovation of the Year’ category. In 2024, colleagues won the ‘Psychiatric Team of the Year: Digital Mental Health’ award at the RCPsych Awards.
At this year’s HSJ Digital Awards, the team were up against some stiff competition, having been shortlisted alongside major national organisations and other NHS bodies.
The JHC provides specialist psychiatric services in east London. The app was created at the Centre to help service users to achieve their goals while staying in hospital.
The Pathways App is co-produced by staff and service users, making patient care easier and more connected across Forensic Services. It enables all parties to track progress on healthcare objectives that have been set, such as weight loss and progressing through the hospital. It also helps to tackle any setbacks and guides each step of a service user's journey in one place. This holds staff accountable, helping to keep everyone on the same page.
The Pathways team have been working closely alongside colleagues working on the Trust’s ‘Optimising Flow’ quality improvement (QI) project, whose support and expertise have been invaluable in shaping the development of the app.
Moving forward, the team will also continue working with other colleagues across the organisation and Compass Wellbeing, the Trust’s not-for-profit community interest company, to expand the app beyond the John Howard Centre. This will help more service users to understand and engage with their journey to recovery.
Commenting on the win, Lead Occupational Therapist at the John Howard Centre, Seán Harte, said: "I am incredibly proud of this achievement as it validates all the hard work towards this project by the staff and patients at the John Howard Centre over the past four years.
“I would like to say a very special thank you to our patient lead on Aldgate Ward, whose skills, dedication, and lived perspective have been central to shaping Pathways into what it is today."
You can read about all the winners from this year’s HSJ Digital Awards on the HSJ’s website.
