17 Aug 2021: Warrington and Halton Teaching Hospitals has secured three more shortlisted entries in the national HSJ Patient Safety Awards 2021, with Intensive Care teams recognised for outstanding contributions to healthcare during the Covid-19 pandemic.
The Patient Safety Team of the Year category and the Deteriorating Patients and Rapid Response Initiative of the Year category both recognise the work of the combined team of WHH Respiratory and Critical Care in developing the Warrington Covid Cooperative between relevant stakeholders. This culture of cooperation and innovation between Respiratory, Intensive Care, Physiotherapy and the Acute Care teams ensured excellent, timely communication and continuity of care. Twice daily joint safety huddles were hosted to maintain clear lines of communication when the team was responding to multiple calls to prevent unnecessary delays in transferring patients to critical care, identifying overnight concerns and patients on high levels of oxygen therapy.
The now famous WHH ‘Black Box’ was developed by a combined team of consultant intensivists, respiratory consultants and specialist physiotherapists who modified the continuous positive airway pressure machines routinely used in the community to deliver high pressure oxygen. This increased the number of patients that could be treated at Warrington Hospital by 600% and gave significantly better experiences and outcomes for patients by avoiding ventilation. The number of patients leaving intensive care after being treated with the adapted device was significant and it changed the medical outcome for hundreds of patients.
These three shortlisted projects join the Trust’s maternity team with their Continuity of Carer project earlier shortlisted in the Maternity and Midwifery Innovation of the Year category. The project built relationships based on mutual trust and respect and encouraged women to make informed decisions about their care with the support of their midwife. It provided the opportunity for women to be cared for in their local community and for 100% of women to have a named midwife.
Winners will be announced at a formal ceremony, part of the Patient Safety Congress and Awards, in Manchester next month 2021.
The judging panel is made up of a diverse range of highly influential and respected figures within the healthcare community including Sue Smith OBE (Executive Chief Nurse and Deputy Chief Executive Officer, University Hospitals Morecambe Bay FT), Rachel Power (Chief Executive, The Patients Association), Dr Hester Wain (Head of Patient Safety Policy, NHS England and NHS Improvement).