The Quality Awards 2017 celebrated the dedication of Southend, Castle Point and Rochford’s doctors and their staff in caring for their patients.

The event was held at the Skylark Hotel in Aviation Way, Southend, where 13 awards were given to doctors and their teams from across South East Essex.

The categories for the awards were; innovation, leadership, public engagement, unsung hero, using technology to improve quality and the prestigious People’s Choice award.

The recipients were selected by a review panel who evaluated all the nominations and made the final decision.

Dr Terry Kemple, President of the Royal College of GPs, was present at the awards.

One of the People’s Choice awards, which was nominated by the public went to Dr Ana Linacero-Gracia from the Island surgery and the other went to Dr Jack and LD Health Check Team.

Chris Hatton, Echo editor, presented the People’s Choice awards.

He said: “It was a delight to be present at the awards, which shone a light on the outstanding work going on in general practice and across the NHS in general.

“The Echo was pleased to support the People’s Choice awards this year and we offer our congratulations and thanks to the winners for their fantastic work .”