Anti-racist training in the Black Maternity Matters pilot shown to increase the cultural competency of maternity staff
News
Evaluation of the pilot phase of Black Maternity Matters shows the project has successfully helped to increase the cultural competency of maternity staff, with the value of the education and training programme demonstrated through both participants’ feedback as well as their resulting actions. Black women* are four times more likely to die during pregnancy or…
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Working together to reduce caesarean birth infections
News
The West of England AHSN is working collaboratively with the region’s six acute maternity hospital trusts on a new project to reduce surgical site infections (SSI) following caesarean births. In March 2023 the first wave of four trusts launched their use of the locally developed PreCiSSIon (Preventing Caesarean Birth Surgical Site Infection) care bundle. The…
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Reducing high blood pressure health inequalities
News
The West of England AHSN has been supporting the region’s Integrated Care Systems (ICS) and a number of Primary Care Networks (PCNs) to adopt a new framework for optimising blood pressure. The framework seeks to improve patient safety by effectively managing high blood pressure and reducing heart attacks, strokes and cases of vascular dementia. This…
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my mhealth awarded £499,780 SBRI Healthcare funding to accelerate the adoption of digitally enhanced respiratory care pathways
News
my mhealth – a company which provides digital therapeutic platforms to support the management of long-term health has been awarded a share of £2.7 million in funding from SBRI Healthcare to support people with respiratory diseases. The company, which received bid writing support from the West of England AHSN to secure the funding, was one…
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Improving asthma diagnosis and patient care in Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire
News
Over the past year, the West of England AHSN has been supporting six Primary Care Networks (PCNs) in Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire (BNSSG) to implement FeNO testing, which supports faster and more accurate diagnosis of asthma. 27 practices are now offering the service, with 775 tests performed to December 2022. The project forms…
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Transforming asthma care across the South West of England
News
The West of England and South West AHSNs, alongside the South West Severe Asthma Network (SWSAN), have been working with 10 hospital trusts across the South West of England to improve asthma pathways and enhance access to innovative treatments for adult patients. A new evaluation shows the collaborative project, which was awarded Pathway Transformation Funding…
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Evaluation finds PReCePT national programme effective in helping to prevent cerebral palsy in premature babies
News
The PReCePT programme to increase the use of magnesium sulphate, a £1 injection that helps prevent cerebral palsy in premature babies, has been found effective according to an evaluation by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). The findings, led by researchers at the University of Bristol, are published in the Archives of…
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Launching our project to improve non-invasive ventilation
News
In December 2022, 24 colleagues from six regional acute hospital trusts and the West of England AHSN came together to launch a new collaborative project focused on improving patient outcomes from non-invasive ventilation (NIV). Watch our introductory video on Vimeo: Acute NIV is an evidence based, clinically effective and lifesaving treatment used to manage patients…
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Improving patient outcomes: non-invasive ventilation
Blog article
In this blog, project Clinical Lead and Respiratory Consultant at the Royal United Hospital Bath, Dr Rebecca Mason, looks forward to the launch of a new West of England collaborative to reduce mortality following non-invasive ventilation (NIV). A design and launch event is being held on 9 December. Here Rebecca explains more… Acute NIV is…
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Regional neonatal units celebrate achievements including highest delayed cord clamping rates
News
Maternity and neonatal (MatNeo) units across the South West are celebrating achieving the highest rate of delayed cord clamping in England and Wales for the second year in a row, as measured by the 2021 National Neonatal Audit Programme (NNAP). Evidence shows that delaying cord clamping reduces death in preterm babies by nearly a third. Celebrating success Rates…
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