The AHSN Network is pleased to be named finalists in the HSJ Awards 2020 in the Primary Care Innovation of the Year category for our national Atrial Fibrillation (AF) programme.
AF is the most common cause of an irregular heart rhythm and the cause of 20% of strokes. Despite the serious impact, many people are unaware they have the condition and Public Health England estimates that 300,000 people in England have undiagnosed AF. Since the national programme launched in 2016, it has helped to prevent 11,734 strokes and saved 2,933 lives.
The entry was based on national data and with input from Eastern AHSN and Yorkshire and Humber AHSN.
Wessex AHSN has also been named finalists in the Primary Care Innovation of the Year category, along with Isle of Wight CCG, Isle of Wight Trust, Lighthouse Medical and Gnosco, for their project which helps speed-up skin cancer diagnosis on the Isle of Wight.
Dermicus, the app based innovation photographs and helps to diagnose skin issues, including skin cancer. It rapidly shares images of suspect skin legions between GPs and dermatologists. This is especially useful for the Isle of Wight, if the dermatologist is not physically on the island, so they are able to diagnose remotely.
West of England AHSN have also been named finalists in three HSJ Awards categories:
Workforce Initiative of the Year – PReCePT: Prevention of Cerebral Palsy in PreTerm Labour, submitted in partnership with Eastern AHSN.
The Prevention of Cerebral Palsy in PreTerm Labour (known as PReCePT) is an AHSN Network national programme that aims to increase awareness and knowledge among maternity and neonatal staff about the use of magnesium sulphate (MgSO4) as brain protection during preterm birth.
System Leadership Initiative of the Year – ReSPECT: Recommended Summary Plan for Emergency Care and Treatment.
The ReSPECT process is about creating a personalised recommendation for someone’s clinical care in an emergency situation where they are not able to make decisions or express their wishes. It was developed by the Resuscitation Council in partnership with patients and their families.
Clinical Leader of the Year – Anne Pullyblank, Medical Director and Consultant Colorectal Surgeon is a driving force in West of England’s AHSN Patient Safety Collaborative. Anne is a committed advocate for the use of data and research and has published numerous articles in peer reviewed journals. Her energy, knowledge and passion have underpinned the success of the AHSNs Emergency Laparotomy Collaborative and the PreciSSIon (Preventing Surgical Site Infection across a region) projects which have used a quality improvement approach and achieved significant measurable improvements in patient outcomes. She also played a pivotal role in the success of the ReSPECT programme.
Now in its 40th year, the HSJ Awards is the largest annual benchmarking and recognition programme for healthcare. Through a rigorous, fair and transparent judging process the awards produce a roll call of the best organisations, teams and people in the NHS and the wider health sector.