National recognition for PreciSSIon and PERIPrem at the HSJ Patient Safety Awards

There are celebrations across the West of England after a brilliant performance by our teams at the prestigious HSJ Patient Safety Awards on 20 September, as part of the annual Patient Safety Congress in Manchester.

PreciSSIon, our regional collaborative to reduce surgical site infection (SSI) after elective colorectal surgery, scooped the Infection Prevention and Control Award, despite the tough competition from hundreds of applicants.

Delivered in partnership with Royal United Hospitals Bath, Gloucestershire Hospitals, North Bristol Trust, University Hospitals Bristol and Weston, and Great Western Hospitals, the project was selected by the judges for its ambition, visionary spirit, and demonstrable positive impact. PreciSSIon was also a finalist in the Perioperative and Surgical Care Initiative of the Year category.

PERIPrem, our project run in partnership with South West AHSN and South West Neonatal Network to introduce a new perinatal care bundle to improve outcomes for premature babies, was highly commended in the Patient Safety Pilot of the Year category.

This short video, featuring Lauren Knott whose twin boys Arthur and Elliot benefited from the PERIPrem package, explains better than we can why we think PERIPrem is a winner.

Watch the PERIPrem video with Lauren Knott on Vimeo here.

Three other West of England AHSN collaborations were also shortlisted for HSJ Patient Safety Awards:

• The West of England Learning Disabilities Collaborative: Learning Disabilities Initiative of the Year
• Videos to support the training of carers to identify deterioration and communicate concern:  Patient Safety Education and Training Award (in partnership with Wessex AHSN, Health Education England, Hampshire, and Isle of Wight ICS)
• PreCePT – Prevention of Cerebral Palsy in PreTerm Labour: Quality Improvement Initiative of the Year
  (West of England AHSN on behalf of the AHSN Network).

Natasha Swinscoe, Chief Executive of the West of England AHSN commented:

“Patient safety is the heart of so much of the work we do here in the West of England, but being recognised at the HSJ Patient Safety Awards in six different categories is amazing. These projects cover a huge range of work but they all rely on meaningful collaboration; from working with the seven surgical hospitals across our region to make significant, measurable reductions in surgical site infection, to the co-creation of the PERIPrem bundle to protect tiny premature babies.

“Some of these projects, such as the training videos for carers, were a direct response to Covid-19. Others, such as our support for the Learning Disabilities Collaborative or encouraging national uptake of magnesium sulphate as a proven intervention to reduce incidence of cerebral palsy in premature babies, have had to respond sensitively to the pressures faced by our frontline colleagues over the last year. Seeing these initiatives spread, become adopted as best practice, and then make a measurable impact on patient outcomes has been incredibly exciting.

“We get to work with inspirational clinicians and partners, and rely on their input to help shape our work. We also rely on their trust in us when they implement these transformation programmes. The result is that cutting-edge change programmes are delivering real patient benefits due to their sensitive and pragmatic implementation.”

Take a look at the full list of the winners, highly commended and shortlisted people, projects and initiatives for the 2021 HSJ Patient Safety Awards here.

Posted on September 21, 2021

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