Interaction between LCEAs and NCIAs

The contractual entitlement to access an annual award round ceased on 1 April 2024. The annual award round from 1 April 2023 to 31 March 2024, which was based on evidence before 1 April 2023, was the final Local Clinical Excellence Award round.
Pre-2018 LCEAs will be retained and these awards shall remain pensionable and consolidated. The value of these awards is frozen. Pre-2018 LCEAs are awards granted prior to 1 April 2018 under local clinical excellence awards schemes in place as of 31 March 2018; they can also be accessed via the reversion mechanism for NCEA holders. The review process for these awards has been removed. With effect from 1 April 2023, a consultant with a pre-2018 LCEA who retires, or partially retires, and returns to the same employer will retain their pre-2018 LCEA.
Schedule 30 of the consultant contract will be updated to reflect these changes. Due to ongoing discussions between trade unions and the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) on national and local award interactions, the publication of an amended Schedule 30 has been delayed. Once discussions conclude, we will publish updated Terms and Conditions.
For any queries, please contact us.
About the National Clinical Impact Awards scheme
The National Clinical Impact Awards are awarded by the Advisory Committee on Clinical Impact Awards (ACCIA). The awards recognise the national impact of work undertaken over and above contractual or other paid activities in the NHS (in England and Wales).
They specifically recognise the dissemination and implementation of that work and its impact on the wider NHS and on public health. There is no requirement to hold any local award to be eligible to apply for a national award.
There are 3 levels of national awards in England:
- national level 1 (N1)
- national level 2 (N2)
- national level 3 (N3)
N3 is the highest award.
Scenarios and flowcharts
The following flowcharts demonstrate the interaction and protections between local and national awards. We have provided scenarios of what protection would be provided when an applicant is successful or unsuccessful when applying for national awards.
Does the consultant currently hold an NCIA or LCEA?
Yes
The consultant can apply for an NCIA and/or LCEA but cannot hold both. If successful for both would need to choose which to accept.
No
If the consultant is eligible, they can apply for an NCIA following the ACCIA online form or an LCEA following the local application process.
The below flowchart demonstrates the interaction between the funding flow of the local and national awards.