Double celebration for “clots” team at the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital

The Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital has been chosen to be an “exemplar centre” for the prevention and care of hospital associated hospital associated thrombosis – in the same week it received first prize in the national thrombus innovation awards at the Royal Society of Medicine.

It is estimated that up to 10,000 deaths a year could be prevented nationally if the risks of thromboembolism (VTE), or blood clots, are properly addressed. The anticoagulation and thombosis team at NNUH has worked hard to raise awareness of this issue and to ensure that all patients who are admitted to hospital undergo a thorough risk assessment.

Much of the team’s success is due to a “click for clots” campaign to encourage staff to access guidelines, forms and useful links on the Trust intranet, including information for patients. Since the campaign was launched in February the number of patients fully assessed for the risk of clots while in hospital has risen from 46 per cent to 95per cent.

VTE prevention is a major priority for the NHS nationally and the exemplar centres are chosen to demonstrate and promote best practice for hospital trusts.

“This success is a direct result of the hard work and dedication of a whole multidisciplinary team, including doctors, nurses, pharmacists and the Trust’s IT web team,” says Dr Peter Woodhouse, consultant physician and chair of the Thromboprophylaxis and Thrombosis Committee

Consultant haematologist Dr Jennie Wimperis commented: “Not all fatal blood clots are preventable but even one unnecessary death is a tragedy if it can be prevented with the right kind of surveillance and care.

“We have been conducting audits and assessments for some time now and we are delighted that this hard work is now paying off.”