Eight NHS and partner organisation teams in Kent and Medway have been shortlisted for a Health Service Journal (HSJ) Award, recognising an outstanding contribution to healthcare.
More than 1,450 entries were received for this year’s awards, with 223 projects and individuals reaching the final shortlist.
Kent and Medway’s shortlisted entries are:
Folkestone, Hythe and Rural Primary Care Network’s hub operating model in the Primary and Community Care Innovation category.
Find out more about the hub in this short film.
Kent and Medway Cancer Alliance's #BeSkinSmart campaign in the NHS Communications Initiative of the Year category.
Focusing on deprived coastal communities, #BeSkinSmart was designed to improve early diagnosis of, and prevention of skin cancer.
Through fun-filled roadshows, bespoke collateral and a social media campaign, the multi-agency stakeholder group spoke to 847 individuals and reached 36,800 on social media, leading to an increase in two week wait cancer referrals in August 2022 compared to the previous four years.
In addition, the human element of the campaign was evidenced through a powerful case study, a man who believes his life was saved by the campaign.
Kent and Medway Hypertension Heroes in the Innovation and Improvement in Reducing Healthcare Inequalities Award.
A joint project between Medway Public Health, NHS Kent and Medway, Office for Health Improvement and Disparities, Kent Community Health Foundation Trust, EK360 and British Heart Foundation.
This multi-agency collaboration between voluntary and statutory bodies developed a personalised approach to improving hypertension awareness, detection and management.
Working with community volunteers, complimenting initiatives in primary care and community pharmacies, EK360 led co-design and co-delivery with community groups to reach populations who may be at risk, but unaware of having hypertension and/or not accessing services or support to help identify and manage their blood pressure.
Trained volunteers engage their communities to overcome barriers to self-management, take their own blood pressure readings and manage risks through lifestyle change; self-monitoring; treatment and accessing primary care support.
Vaccine ambassadors in the community and care homes programme in the NHS Race Equality category.
The project used a unique approach to resolving vaccine hesitancy and building trust among ethnic communities.
The project assigns a team of trained individuals to directly communicate with people through door-to-door knocking, distributing informative materials at shopping centres and community hubs, and targets specific areas with high deprivation or low vaccination uptake, using data to maximize its impact.
Kent Community Health Foundation Trust’s East Kent Community Specialist Respiratory Service in the Primary and Community Care Provider category.
Nominated for their exceptional work, individual resilience and dedication to a caseload of 1,500 respiratory patients throughout the pandemic. Also in regards to their work with admission avoidance, patient safety, quality improvement projects and support groups for pulmonary fibrosis patients.
Face-to-face home visits continued throughout the pandemic, with clinicians engaged in high risk AGP interventions while wearing full FFP3 PPE.
Performance recovery driving improvements in patient care at Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells Trust in the Performance Recovery Award.
Against a backdrop of increasing demand for services the trust has introduced new ways of working to make sure patients are receiving some of the fastest access to treatment in the country. Read the full story on the trust's website.
Medway NHS Foundation Trust’s Pharmacy Team in the Medicines, Pharmacy and Prescribing Initiative of the Year category.
For the implementation of an innovative electronic prescribing and administration system that enables clinical pharmacists working remotely to screen discharge prescriptions for inpatients, improving the timely supply of medicines and contributing to better care for and faster discharge for patients. Read more in Medway NHS Foundation Trust news.
Kent and Medway NHS and Social Care Partnership Trust’s Talking wellness in the Staff Wellbeing category.
The submission was based on using learning, knowledge, and partnership working to leave a legacy for other trusts to use through a developed clinical outreach model of service delivery.
The selected winners will be announced during the awards ceremony at Evolution London on 16 November.
The full list of nominees for the 2023 HSJ awards can be found at awards.hsj.co.uk