NNUH short-listed for prestigious Health Service Journal Award

The Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital has been shortlisted for a prestigious national award for Acute Sector Innovation.

The Acute Sector Innovation nomination in the Health Service Journal 2013 awards, is for the Trust’s unique programme of independent ward audits it developed to ensure high standards of the quality of care provided to patients are maintained and always challenged to be raised further.

This Quality Assurance Audit programme involves unannounced ward and clinic inspections by teams of three, in at least two areas every day across the hospitals’ wards and clinics. Comprising two senior nurses and an independent external representative from the community, the teams visit a ward or clinic and inspect the standards of care provided to patients in that setting including cleanliness, assistance with meals, medication and records.

The external independent representatives are from local voluntary and community groups such as Age UK, the Older People’s Forum and patient groups. They are on every audit team and are primarily responsible for talking with patients and families to listen to their feedback. At the end of each audit all members of the team share their findings with the ward they have visited with any action points.

The value of this Quality Assurance Audit programme unique in the country, has now been recognized in this year’s HSJ awards.

Emma McKay, Director of Nursing, said: “The Quality Assurance Audits are an extremely challenging and rigorous inspection programme and provide us with daily in-depth feedback from across our wards and clinics.

“The audits are made much more powerful by the participation of external representatives who bring independence and an outside view from a fresh pair of eyes which is incredibly valuable. Staff in our wards and clinics work hard to keep our standards of quality of care high and this programme helps us to constantly challenge and raise those standards still further so that we can provide the best possible care and experience for our patients.

“Norfolk and Norwich’s Quality Assurance Audits programme is unique and we are really pleased to be HSJ 2013 finalists.”