Three innovative projects shortlisted for awards
The Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital (NNUH) has three projects designed to benefit patients and the hospital shortlisted for awards with Health Enterprise East (HEE).
One of the entries in the ‘software/ICT/assistive technology’ category is a website developed by experts at NNUH, which provides tailored advice to help women manage the menopause.
The development of the website at has been led by Mr Edward Morris, consultant in obstetrics and gynaecology at NNUH who was also Chairman of the British Menopause Society in 2013-15. Mr Paul Simpson, clinical research fellow in gynaecology has helped create the website.
Mr Morris explains: “This is the first time women have had access to this type of advice and we are delighted that this innovation has been recognised by HEE. We aim to educate and support women with their healthcare by providing unbiased, accurate information. So far over 6700 tailored information packs have been downloaded and we feel greatly encouraged that the site has got off to a great start.
“Life expectancy has increased significantly over the last century but the age of the menopause has stayed about the same. This means that women spend as much as a third of their life after the menopause. This means it is increasingly important to follow a healthy lifestyle and reduce any risk factors for major illnesses such as heart disease and cancer.”
Another collaboration between NNUH, University of East Anglia (UEA) and Norwich Community Health & Care (NCH&C) has been shortlisted in the software/ICT/assistive technology category.
The team are developing an app for patients recovering from a stroke. The bespoke app has been designed by physiotherapists and researchers and aims to motivate and help patients carry out more self-directed exercises in hospital and in the community. The app includes videos demonstrated by stroke survivors of how exercises should be carried out and reminders.
Manjari Mull, Operational Manager for Stroke at NNUH, said: “This app has the potential to greatly benefit some stroke survivors adding to the service already offered to patients with stroke, in their own home. Physiotherapy is key to patients’ recovery after stroke. This can enhance movement, therefore giving patients more independence and an improved quality of life. It can also help patients to manage their condition in the future. The stroke pathway at NNUH is one of the best in the country and we are keen to develop and improve the service we offer and the app is a great example of this.”
The third NNUH nomination was in the ‘Service Improvement’ category and aimed to reduce ‘Did Not Attend’ (DNA) rates in Radiology.
The department used targeted text messaging via a system on the hospitals intranet, to patients who were due to attend a radiology appointment within 48 hours. The project has reduced the DNA rate from 5% to 3.1% saving NNUH £136,000 since it started in July 2015.
Philippa Taitt, Radiology Service Improvement Manager, said: “Being proactive and texting our patients has proved to be extremely valuable. After sending the text message we’d receive calls from patients to double check their appointment times, and we’ve been able to proactively seek out more patient’s phone numbers for future use. We used to experience in the region of 1000 DNAs in Radiology every month, and now we are seeing around 500, so the project has definitely been successful and has made a huge difference to the hospital.”
There are five categories in the HEE awards which provides technology advisory and innovation management services to the NHS. The winners will be announced on 9th June at the Radisson Blu at Stansted
For more information go to: http://www.hee.org.uk/news/2016/05/finalists-announced