A PARTNERSHIP which boosted volunteer numbers at the Northumbria hospital has won a national award.

Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust teamed up with law firm DAC Beachcroft to enable lawyers to volunteer in the hospital’s ambulatory care unit.

The project was the first time a corporate partner had supported the NHS in this way and the firm was named the best legal services provider in this year’s Health Service Journal’s Partnership Awards.

Sir James Mackey, chief executive of the trust, said: “We are extremely proud of every one of our more than 1,000 volunteers and that we have one of the most long-standing volunteering programmes in the NHS. Our partnership with DACB is truly ground-breaking as it’s the first time in the history of NHS volunteering that a corporate partner has worked with a trust quite like this.”