Healthcare staff from the West of England picked up a prestigious award last week for an initiative to support the adoption of an emergency department checklist tool across all hospitals in the region.
Led by the West of England Academic Health Science Network (AHSN), the Emergency Department Collaborative won the HSJ Patient Safety Award ‘Best Patient Safety Initiative in A&E’.
Originally piloted at University Hospitals Bristol NHS Foundation Trust in 2014, the West of England AHSN has supported all seven emergency departments in the region (spanning six hospital trusts and the ambulance service) to adopt the emergency department safety checklist to address the shared challenge of ensuring patient safety during periods of crowding.
The checklist helps to standardise and improve the delivery of basic care in emergency departments, providing a time-based framework of tasks completed for every patient, other than those with minor complaints.
The judges felt the checklist had already achieved a significant impact on patient safety and, having already spread across multiple organisations, could see the potential for wider adoption across the country.
Ann Remmers, Director of Patient Safety at the West of England AHSN, said: “We are delighted to receive this award which recognises the commitment across organisations in the West of England to improve patient safety in emergency departments.”
Lorraine Motuel, Quality and Safety Improvement Lead for North Bristol NHS Trust, said: “I am proud to be part of the initiative and it’s been amazing seeing how our emergency department have embraced the checklist to support the safety of patients in the department.
The collaborative with the other emergency departments has enabled us all to learn and share ideas.
Jason Lugg is Matron for the Division of Medicine at University Hospitals Bristol, where the ED safety checklist was originally piloted. Jason added: “The checklist is embedded into routine practice in our emergency department and we are delighted with the results so far.
“This national recognition proves that a simple, well-designed checklist such as this can greatly improve the delivery of safe care.”
The winners of the 2017 Patient Safety Awards were announced on 4th July at Manchester Central, Manchester. The awards were a great evening of recognition and celebration for all the organisations demonstrating improved practice and delivery in patient safety.
This year saw fierce competition for the coveted Patient Safety Awards with over 550 submissions, of which only 170 made it to the final cut, and from those 21 deserving winners were decided by an expert panel of judges.
Receiving the ‘Best Patient Safety Initiative in A&E’ award on behalf of the Emergency Department Collaborative were Deborah Evans, Managing Director of the West of England AHSN, and Lorraine Motuel, Quality and Safety Improvement Lead for North Bristol NHS Trust.
