November 11, 2015 4.07 pm This story is over 100 months old

Lincolnshire NHS team’s respiratory service recognised with prestigious award

Hard work rewarded: A service developed by United Lincolnshire Hospitals NHS Trust staff has beaten more than 100 initiatives to win a prestigious healthcare award, as well as extra funding to develop their project.

(L-R): Laura Fowler (Respiratory Clinical Nurse Specialist), Kathryn Cope (Respiratory Clinical Nurse Specialist), Dr Zara Pogson, (Respiratory Consultant), Katie Sleight (Respiratory Clinical Nurse Specialist)

A service developed by United Lincolnshire Hospitals NHS Trust staff has beaten more than 100 initiatives to win a prestigious healthcare award, as well as extra funding to develop their project.

The work of nurses, doctors and support staff aims to transform the way patients with respiratory illnesses are treated, developing ways for them to be assessed more quickly and ensuring they can leave hospital sooner.

Patients with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), the collective term for a range of lung diseases which cause disability and death, have seen many benefits from using the service.

ULHT says the work has halved the risk of patients being re-admitted to hospital.

The initiative won the Frontline Innovations category at the East Midlands Innovation in Healthcare Awards event on Thursday, November 5. The awards celebrate innovations that are improving services and saving lives throughout the region.

More than 100 projects were entered, showcasing a variety of ideas being developed at the frontline of healthcare services.

Winners receive £3,000 to contribute to further developments of their service and the opportunity to work with the East Midlands Academic Health Science Network to share their best practice with other healthcare organisations across the region.

The winning ULHT service is led by nurses and supported by medical staff, with Respiratory Consultant Zara Pogson securing funding from the medical business unit to enable the service to be put in place.

Respiratory clinical nurse Laura Fowler at Lincoln County Hospital said: “We are so pleased to have won this award.

“We’re very proud of the service we have developed for patients, particularly with the outcomes we are seeing visibly in getting patients through their assessments more quickly and halving the risk of re-admission. It’s fantastic to have that work recognised in this way.”

Acting Chief Nurse, Pauleen Pratt added: “This is a fantastic achievement by our nurses and doctors and demonstrates the work we are doing at the frontline to ensure our services for our patients are the best they can be.

“I congratulate all the staff involved in developing this way of working, providing patients with a great experience.”