2026 awards are now closed
Bladder & Bowel UK Impact Award
The 2027 Bladder & Bowel UK Impact Award will open soon.
If you have any questions regarding your application, please email:
About the award
The Bladder & Bowel UK Impact Award recognises an individual or group who has shown exceptional commitment to improving the lives of people with bladder and/or bowel conditions. This could involve volunteering, fundraising, lobbying, researching, counselling, improving wellbeing, educating, or similar efforts.
The nominee can be anyone, a member of the public, a healthcare professional, or a patient who has positively impacted your life or the life of someone else and deserves recognition for their contributions.
Nominations for 2026 are now closed.
The award will be judged by a panel of Bladder & Bowel UK experts and clinicians.
Applications
The application portal opens soon and closes on the 1st June 2026.
Nominations are open to individuals or groups who have actively made an impact on the lives of people with bladder and/or bowel conditions in the last three years, from 1st Jan 2023 to July 2026.
Judging begins on the 8th June 2026 and closes on the 10th Aug 2026.
The award winner will be announced on 11th September 2026.
How to apply
It is preferred if applicants are nominated by someone who knows the applicant’s story and can explain in detail why they deserve the award.
Explain in your own words why the person you are nominating deserves the award and what they have done or do that makes such a big impact on others.
Applicants will submit:
- A short paragraph on the relationship between you or the person you are completing the application on behalf of and the nominee.
- What the nominee does and how it makes an impact on you and/or others.
- How long have they been making an impact.
- Photography and video are allowed to help explain and demonstrate the nominee’s impact and dedication (maximum five minutes).
Awards
The winner will receive a £500.00 cheque, a glass award and a certificate.
If appropriate, the winner will also receive free Bladder & Bowel UK symposium tickets and the opportunity to present their work. They will be featured on the Bladder & Bowel UK digital marketing and press releases.
2026 Product Innovation Award winner
Congratulations to Bethany Harris who has won the Bladder & Bowel UK Impact Award 2026.
For more than ten years, Beth lived with severe slow transit constipation. She tried one treatment after another, but nothing worked, and in the end she became so poorly that her kidneys were affected. Having an ileostomy changed her life, and after coming through such a frightening time, Beth didn’t want anyone else to feel as scared and alone as she had.
So she started talking about it. On Instagram and TikTok (@palomathestoma), Beth shares what life with a stoma is really like, the good days and the harder ones, along with practical tips for people who are new to it all. More than 15,000 people now follow her, and her openness is helping so many feel able to talk about something that’s often kept quiet.
When Beth realised there was no stoma support group near her, she started one herself, and she runs it regularly. She’s also spoken up about the mental health of children living with stomas and bowel conditions, and raised money for charity, including taking on the 2026 London Marathon.
Beth’s honesty, kindness and determination have made a real difference to so many people. We couldn’t have asked for a more deserving first winner.
