NNUH shortlisted for top awards

The Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital's pioneering Emergency Assessment Unit (EAU) and Information Technology (IT) teams are both shortlisted for prestigious national awards.

The EAU team has been shortlisted in the 2004 Hospital Doctor awards in the category of best Acute Medicine team. The hospital’s Emergency Assessment Unit was the first in the country when it was first established in 1994 at the old Norfolk and Norwich. The EAU is split between surgical and medical patients who require rapid diagnosis and a high level of individual care.

And the IT team are shortlisted in the 2004 Health Service Journal awards in the category of Improving Care through E-Technology. The Norwich hospital was the first in the country to pioneer text messaging for patients and carers to remind them to attend appointments. Patients missing appointments is a costly problem across the NHS, and the Norwich project reduced Did Not Attend (DNA) rates by up to 50 per cent in some departments.

Chief executive Paul Forden said: “We have a very talented staff who do an outstanding job and we’re delighted that the efforts of our EAU and IT teams are being recognised nationally. We wish them all the best for the finals.”

The final of the Hospital Doctor awards takes place on November 25 and the final of the HSJ awards takes place on November 15.

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