Warrington and Halton Teaching Hospitals is delighted to announce that the Trust has been shortlisted at this year’s prestigious HSJ Patient Safety Awards. 

It has been named as a finalist in the Maternity and Midwifery Services Initiative of the Year category for its innovative Maternity Services Falls Prevention collaborative project. 

The Maternity Unit, based at Warrington Hospital, has more than 2,500 births a year which ranges from low to high-risk pregnancies. Birth events, medication and physiological changes can often lead to an increased chance of having a slip, trip or fall when staying in hospital. 

Teams from across the Trust worked collaboratively to create a unique maternity specific approach to prevent and manage falls, including education and training, along with resources to support staff and patients. Supported by WHH Charity, the project also introduced new recliner chairs to support patients to get out of bed and be with their baby, helping to improve mobility, reduce pain and lower the risk of a fall.

Vanessa Wallace, one of the Trust’s Patient Safety Improvement Nurses and Project Lead, said: “I am absolutely delighted that our Maternity Services Falls Prevention project has been nominated for a HSJ Patient Safety Award. 

“It is a huge achievement for our teams to be recognised for the innovative work and I am so proud of the patient safety improvements the project has made and the difference it has made to empowering staff to provide the best care for their patients.”

The success of the project has led to the creation of a new Trust-wide maternity safety initiative, including risk assessments and prevention methods, which has been shared nationally. 

Ali Kennah, Chief Nurse at Warrington and Halton Teaching Hospitals, said: “I am extremely proud of our Nursing and Midwifery Teams for their collaborative work on this new patient safety initiative. Maternity falls are not as common as those on general wards, however preventing these falls is still of great importance to keep our patients safe.

“Thank you to everyone involved for their continued support and commitment to making the project a success. We will continue to build on the project to ensure that the new policy, risk prevention approaches and learning are a standard component of our maternity care plan.” 

The HSJ Patient Safety Awards acknowledges the hard-working teams and individuals across the UK who are continually striving to deliver improved patient care.

Winners will be announced during the awards ceremony at Manchester Central on Monday 16 September 2024.

The full list of finalists for the 2024 HSJ Patient Safety Awards can be found at https://awards.patientsafetycongress.co.uk/shortlist-2024