Services and projects delivered by NHS Birmingham and Solihull Integrated Care System have been highly commended at this year’s HSJ Patient Safety Awards which aim to recognise safety, culture and positive experience in patient care.
In the ‘Improving Care for Older People Initiative of the Year’ category, Birmingham Queen Elizabeth Hospital, part of University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust, was highly commended for its therapy services for older people.
Highly commended in the ‘Improving Health Outcomes for Minority Ethnic Communities’ category was Community Connexions – a programme delivered by a collaborative partnership of Birmingham Community Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, Black Country Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, Aston University, and the National Institute for Health and Care Research Clinical Research Network.
Community Connexions is a patient and public engagement programme for the community that seeks to capture the lived experiences of local communities in Birmingham and the Black Country to adapt health and care services to better meet local needs and inform future health research.
The annual HSJ Patient Safety Awards, partnered this year with Radar Healthcare and the Nursing and Midwifery Council, acknowledges the hard-working teams and individuals across the UK who are continually striving to deliver improved patient care and a culture of safety.
Professor Patrick Vernon OBE, Interim Chair at NHS Birmingham and Solihull Integrated Care Board, said: “Our congratulations to our NHS providers and partners for their work to ensure, as a system, we are working hard to drive improvement in both patient experience and ensuring we are shaping our health and care services through engagement with the globally diverse communities we serve.”
A record-breaking 516 entries were received for the HSJ Patient Safety Awards 2023, with 206 organisations, projects and individuals making it to the final shortlist, following two rounds of rigorous judging. The high volume - and exceptional quality – of applications once again showcased the level of commitment to patient care within the UK’s healthcare networks.
The judging panel was made up of a diverse range of highly influential and respected figures within the healthcare community. All finalists and winners were judged set against three clear criteria; clinical and specialist excellence; enacting organisation-wide change and service/system innovation.