HEALTH workers at Huddersfield Royal Infirmary and St Luke's Hospital have received a Government award for excellence in public service.

A Charter Mark has been presented to the Clinical Therapy and Rehabilitation Directorate at the Calderdale and Huddersfield NHS Trust.

The department covers services such as physiotherapy, speech and language, occupational therapy and chiropody.

The award focuses on the service patients receive and how they receive it.

And it is used as a benchmark to continuously improve the service to patients.

Bev France, clinical director of clinical therapy and rehabilitation said: "This is such a prestigious award. The whole directorate should be proud of what it has achieved.

"I hope we can share our best practice with others in the trust and beyond."

Key objectives of the Charter Mark are:

* Setting standards and performing well

* Engaging with patients, partners and staff

* Promoting choice and being fair and accessible

* Continuously developing and improving services

* Using resources effectively

The former Huddersfield NHS Trust received the Charter Mark for its clinical therapy directorate. But a new application had to be made after it merged with the one attached to Calderdale NHS Trust.

More than 450 samples of written evidence were submitted for scrutiny by assessors.

And 63 criteria had to be met in order for the award to be made.