1. The Best Impact on Patient Experience Award

SOUTH TYNESIDE NHS FOUNDATION TRUST

For their project:
Improving the patient Experience for COPD patients in Sunderland

A project designed to prevent avoidable admission by making use of new technology to improve clinical decision making and enable the team to push the boundaries of community care during acute exacerbation requiring time limited oxygen therapy.

During the first 4 months of the pilot an 85% success rate was seen in admission prevention in the target group, with cost reductions of 55%.

Pictured front and centre, Marie Herring supported by colleagues from South Tyneside NHS Foundation Trust and Bob Gomersall - Chairman of Virtual College.

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2. The Sustained Improvement Award

DONCASTER AND BASSETLAW HOSPITALS NHS FOUNDATION TRUST

For their project:
Jeep’s Disease: Changing Practice

This project was designed to improve outcomes for patients undergoing Pilonidal Sinus operations, including reducing healing times and pain and enabling patients to return to work early. This results of this project have been sustained for five years and counting.

Maintaining employment is particularly important in the prevalent age group and one particularly impactful example shows a patient who was able to return to work within 4 weeks of the new regime after having been out of work for 5 years following their initial operation.  The project revealed huge cost savings with an average reduction of £836.46 per episode of care and these savings continue.

Pictured from left to right: Sue Johnson, Kathy Leak, Denise Ridsdale and Bob Gomersall - Chairman of Virtual College.

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3. Pioneers of Telehealth / Telecare Award

SOUTHERN HEALTH AND SOCIAL CARE TRUST

For their project:
Implementation of Remote Tele-monitoring for People with Long Term Conditions

The project was designed to improve the health and wellbeing of patients with Long Term conditions living in the area.

Telehealth has helped patients to understand the importance of medication and lifestyle concordance, identifying triggers before exacerbation, which has offered a greater opportunity for patients to take responsibility for their own health.

86% patients strongly agreed that the monitoring system assisted them in managing their health on a daily basis, and further benefits include reduced reliance on secondary care, optimised use of staffing resources and the ability to better meet the growing needs of patients with Long Term chronic conditions.

Pictured from left to right: Christine Breen, Wendy Henning, Carol Patton and Bob Gomersall - Chairman of Virtual College.

View the presentation here

4. Lean Champion of the Year Award

Richard Wylde

AIREDALE NHS FOUNDATION TRUST

Richard has tirelessly worked within Airedale to implement Lean across the organisation and has successfully applied the Productive Series methodologies in several areas including the Maternity Services.

A great success of Richard’s has been with the community midwives, significantly reducing the number of faxes sent saving 355 working hours – these hours have been put back into the service ensuring all women now get a full 28 week appointment and all follow up appointments have been increased by 5 minutes.

Pictured from left to right: Richard Wylde and Bob Gomersall - Chairman of Virtual College.

5. The Productive Series Award - International

HEALTHCARE IMPROVEMENT SCOTLAND

For their project:
Releasing Time to Care Implementation Programme

This project implements the Productive Series programme through national coordination requiring close working relationships with all partners including the Scottish Government Health Directorate and NHS Education for Scotland.

The whole system approach across NHS Scotland is designed to create a culture of continuous improvement whilst also being sensitive to the current economic climate. It aims to provide a high level of person centred quality care.

A wide ranging project working across all areas designed to improve the overall health care provided in Scotland.

Pictured from left to right: Fiona Cook, Angela Balharrie and Bob Gomersall - Chairman of Virtual College.

View the presentation here

6. The Productive Series Award - England

SOUTH TEES HOSPITAL NHS FOUNDATION TRUST

For their project:
Time to Care – The spread of ‘productives’ across an acute setting

This project is intended to embed a culture change with the training provided at ward level at a time that suits.

The focus is on enabling staff to lead and manage change within their own areas.

A pilot for the Productive Ward programme in 2007, 46 wards are currently active with a target for all wards having started the programme within 2012.

The savings currently stand at over £50,000, with a mean increase of 19% of registered nurse time which has been redirected into patient care.
These changes have been sustained and spread from improvements in the environment to the ways team communicate.

Pictured from left to right: Lesley Bolster, Tricia Hart, Gill Husband and Bob Gomersall - Chairman of Virtual College.

7. The Embracing Technology Award

UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL OF NORTH STAFFORDSHIRE

For their project:
Embracing Technology – Pharmacy Robot

This project involved the introduction of the automated dispensing system which has led to improved efficiency and reduced turnaround times whilst enhancing quality and patient safety.

The robot service has reduced the number of errors below the national benchmark and the project has acted as a catalyst to enable ‘one stop dispensing’ with pharmacists and technicians spending more time on wards.

Error rates have reduced significantly, turnaround times have reduced delayed discharges resulting in reduced length of stay.

Performance rate of turnaround times has increased since September 2010 to 89%.

Pictured from left to right: Lorraine Edwards, Mary Stubbs, Sue Thomson, Mike Poulson and Bob Gomersall - Chairman of Virtual College.

View the presentation here

8. The Sharing Best Practice Award

RSL STEEPER

For their project:
Prosthetic Rehabilitation: the use of best practice to drive quality and cost effectiveness

This project is designed to research, develop and produce evidence based practice guidelines for prosthetic prescription and improve services based on life costing of products to improve prescription, reduce patient visits and introduce cost efficiencies.

RSL Steeper are a prosthetic service provider working in partnership with the NHS to provide clinical services.

They have produced evidence based guidelines derived from a critical review of available research evidence and professional consensus of opinion and provided guidance on specific prosthetic components.

These guidelines have been published in book form and are supplied to all prosthetic branches in the UK.

Pictured from left to right: Iain Smith, Vicky Jarvis, Steve Carter, Mark Davies and Nancy Rhodes.

View the presentation here

9. Improving Services through Training & Development Award

ROYAL FREE NHS TRUST

For their project:
Implementation of a hospital-wide ‘diabetes care bundle’ to improve inpatient safety

A trust wide initiative on the implementation of a hospital wide diabetes care bundle involving intensive training of all medical staff. 

Bespoke training was provided to each area and involved direct contact with clinical staff. Over 1,000 staff have been trained directly with many more being trained informally and opportunistically. 

The training involved clinical engagement with ward staff and their honest and open feedback regarding the new protocols was actively sought and became embedded into those protocols. 

This training is fully embedded into hospital policy, and mandatory and cyclical training of all clinical staff is fundamental to the continuous improvement and evolution of the work.

As a result of the training an audit has shown a 70% reduction in hypoglycaemia. Nurses have also reported an increased confidence in managing inpatient diabetes.

Pictured from left to right: Mark Richardsons (accepting the award on behalf of the Royal Free NHS Trust) and Bob Gomersall - Chairman of Virtual College.

View the presentation here

10. Outstanding Contribution to the Advancement of Lean Award

Susan Speak

AIREDALE NHS FOUNDATION TRUST 

This year we are delighted to honour an individual who, over years, has remained tireless and irrepressable in utilising lean tools to improve their organisation.

Enthusiastically embracing lean whilst working as a clinician and front line professional, but not content with improving their own area, our winner progressed to providing lean support across their trust. A holder of both the Business Improvement Techniques levels 2 & 3 qualifications and a prolific sharer of best practice, many of you in this room will have benefitted from the time and experience this individual has been prepared to give to help other individuals and trusts.

Now I know midwives are very popular at the moment, and we do seem to see many of them in the service improvement arena – is this because of their practicality? Their ability to remain calm in a crisis? Or simply a positive mental attitude and determination to succeed in their task.
Our winner has all of these qualities and we are pleased to call her a friend.

Pictured from left to right: Judith Clarkson, Susan Speak and Bob Gomersall - Chairman of Virtual College.

11. People's Choice Award

BRADFORD DISTRICT CARE TRUST

For their project:
The adoption & spread of the productive mental health ward programme in a learning disability inpatient unit.

This project utilises the Productive Mental Health Ward initiative which is a key component of the Trust’s QIPP agenda.

BDCT have been engaged in the programme since 2010 and results show that direct care time has increased by 25% with a  significant reduction in both reported incidents and interruptions to direct care.

At the same time the team have been able to increase job satisfaction amongst staff – making this a project that has positively impacted on all areas of the unit.

Pictured from left to right: Krishnakumar Nair, Caleb Agbeshie, Samuel Ives, Janet Barker and Bob Gomersall - Chairman of Virtual College.

View the presentation here