NNUH shortlisted for three national awards
Finalists for the Health Service Journal’s Value in Healthcare Awards have been announced and the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital have been nominated in three categories.
The awards recognise and celebrate the excellent use of resources to improve outcomes in the NHS. Shortlisted organisations have demonstrated they deliver improved value and efficiency and have been judged to be pioneers in this increasingly important area.
The Older People’s Medicine (OPM) team have been nominated in the ‘Acute Service Redesign’ category for their service innovation which has focussed on enhancing the care provided for Norfolk’s frail and older patients. The team underwent additional training to identify patients with frailty attending our Emergency Areas. A Comprehensive Geriatric Assessment (CGA) is now undertaken by a team of doctors, nurses, therapists and pharmacist on every frail patient attending the hospital which has been shown to reduce the need for hospital admission in future. These measures have helped to improve experience, broaden patient choice and increase independence for this patient group.
An innovative project in the Urology department helped secure a nomination in the ‘Improving the Value of Surgical Services’ category. The introduction of the Urolift procedure, a minimally-invasive ambulatory treatment for severe urinary tract symptoms from benign prostate hyperplasia (BPH) has meant rapid symptom relief and quicker recovery for patients.
Within the Training and Development category, the NNUH ‘Excellence Together’ programme, which is a guided learning programme for hospital staff, focusing on improvement and change methodology, has been nominated. The programme is designed to guide clinicians in leading key projects which deliver sustainable improvement in areas that really matter to them and their patients. Four specialties took part in the first wave of the programme which helped to deliver a 10% reduction in average length of stay for elderly patients and the design of a new pathway for spinal patients.
Richard Parker, NNUH Chief Operating Officer, congratulated the teams involved. He said: “These nominations are testament to the innovative and forward thinking nature of the way we do things at NNUH. Our teams consistently rise to the challenge of finding new ways to improve the excellent care provided in our hospital and I’d like to thank them for their focus on finding new systems techniques and processes which benefit our patients.”
The final round of judging starts on 4th April, with the overall winners announced at a ceremony in Manchester in June.