Rewarding Excellence

We’re used to being faced with bad news about the NHS in the national media, with stories on medical errors and budgetary issues clocking up column inches on a regular basis. As a result, the good news coming from the people working tirelessly to care for the nation can sometimes receive less attention. To help set right this balance, the Health Business Awards come to Grange St. Paul’s Hotel in London this December to recognise those who strive to raise standards in the NHS.

This year’s ceremony is to be hosted by Dr Sarah Jarvis, an Oxford-trained GP who is familiar on our screens as the health and medical reporter for BBC’s The One Show. In addition to her media activities and her work for the West London practice where she has been based for over 20 years, Sarah has been the Women’s Health spokesperson for the Royal College of General Practitioners and chair of the Health Care Committee of the cholesterol charity HEART UK.

This year marks the inclusion of a new category, the Clinical Commissioning Award, sponsored by Medibooks. This award recognises the efforts of clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) to make the right decisions for patients in their local area. Nominees include: NHS West Cheshire CCG, whose Hospital@Home visit scheme has boosted patient satisfaction and saved £2.9 million through reducing hospital stays; NHS Bedfordshire CCG, who worked with local pharmacies to offer an enhanced service for diabetics; and NHS Crawley CCG, who helped to establish ‘Dementia Friendly Crawley’.

On the shortlist for the Outstanding Achievement in Healthcare Award, sponsored by Austco, are organisations such as: Frimley Health NHS Trust in Surrey, the first Trust to be rated ‘Outstanding’ in the new Care Quality Commission standards; West Midlands Ambulance Service, whose radical new approach to trauma care has saved resulted in an additional 81 survivors than was first projected; and the Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital NHS Trust, where a new osteoarthritis screening technique and integrated patient care model have helped to transform patient experience.

FURTHER INFORMATION
hbawards.co.uk