The Trust has been named as a finalist in the Early-Stage Patient Safety Innovation of the Year category at this year’s HSJ Patient Safety Awards following the successful introduction of its WHH Active Hospitals Programme.

The WHH Active Hospitals Programme is an innovative and collaborative approach to encourage patients in hospital to move more during their stay.

When people are admitted to hospital, they often spend long periods of time in bed, which can cause what is known as deconditioning, the loss of their physical fitness. By building physical activity, however little, into their daily routine within hospital it can improve a patient’s wellbeing and physical health.

As part of the project, education and training was developed and each ward was provided with a ‘Ready, Dress, GO!’ practical toolkit with prompts to support staff and patients (see notes to editors). The ward staff support the patients to get active based on their abilities.

Rachel Moran, Clinical Specialist (Project Lead), explained the importance of the Active Hospitals Programme: “To be shortlisted for an HSJ Patient Safety Award is such exciting news, it is a huge achievement for our team to be recognised for the work we do to deliver outstanding care with our patients wellbeing at the heart of all we do.

“By championing Active Hospitals we are empowering patients who are able to remain active during their hospital stay. I am incredibly grateful to everyone for their support, encouragement and continued engagement with this important work.”

Chief Nurse and Deputy Chief Executive Kimberley Salmon-Jamieson said:

“The team have worked exceptionally hard on the Active Hospitals programme, and I would like to thank all involved for their support and enthusiasm.

“We will continue to build on the success of the programme to ensure that the promotion of physical activity becomes a standard quality component of daily patient care.”

The HSJ Patient Safety Awards recognise and reward the hard-working teams and individuals who are striving to deliver improved patient care.

Winners will be announced during an awards ceremony at Manchester Central on 18 September 2023.