Four separate projects promoting patient safety at Stockport NHS Foundation Trust have been recognised by being shortlisted for top national health awards.
The trust, which runs Stepping Hill Hospital and community NHS services in Stockport, is the finalist in four different categories in the Health Service Journal Patient Safety Awards, which reward the best in protection and promotion of patient safety in health services across the country.
The categories in which the services have been shortlisted are; ‘Improving Care for Children and Young People Initiative of the Year’ – for the Diabetes Transitioning Young Adult Pilot; ‘Improving Medicines Safety Award’ – for the Service Evaluation on the Impact of a Pharmacy Technician Led Telephone Review for patients with Chronic Myeloid Leukaemia; ‘Patient Involvement in Safety Award’ – for the Experience Based Co-Design (EBCD) Pain Management Pathway, and ‘Safety Improvement Through Technology Award’ – for the Digital Postnatal Hypertension Pathway.
The diabetes pilot is aimed at younger patients transitioning from child to adult, a group who had previously had issues of disengagement, poor adherence to the management of their condition, and subsequent deteriorating health outcomes.
The pilot made good use of data, identified opportunities for personalised care, and facilitated targeted interventions for the young patients who needed it. Care was made available in community clinic settings, reducing the need to visit hospital. This has had a positive impact in reducing the number of emergency attendances, and better health outcomes for these patients.
The improving medicines safety project for patients with Chronic Myeloid Leukaemia (CML) involved the introduction of a specialised telephone pharmacy service to support their medication.
This new service has improved safety by reducing the possibility of errors in medication for these patients, as well as giving them better access to timely reviews, and an overall enhanced experience.
The patient involvement project involved the pain management team taking part in a major consultation project with their patients, gaining their insight to help make service improvements.
The result has been a truly collaborative project between clinicians and patients, helping to establish better ways towards them taking control of their care, and improving their pain management.
The digital hypertension pathway involved introducing a remote monitoring device for patients at risk of high blood pressure which captures their range of cardiorespiratory measurements, together with advice on how to use and record it, and when to seek medical attention.
This new support is set to improve health outcomes for patients with hypertension, make better use of health resources, reduce hospital admissions, and help ensure these patients can be in their own home sooner.
Andrew Loughney, Medical Director for Stockport NHS Foundation Trust said; “The diverse disciplines among our finalists here show we’re introducing projects to improve safety across our services, and in a great variety of ways. The innovation on display is the result of great collaborative working, and all towards the goal of safer standards for our patients. Congratulations to everyone who has worked towards these achievements, and best wishes to them in each of their categories.”
The HSJ Patient Safety Awards celebrate the best in patient safety in health services across the country. The winners of the awards will be announced at a ceremony in Manchester on 15th September, 2025.