West Hertfordshire Hospitals NHS Trust reaches the final for three national healthcare awards

West Hertfordshire Hospitals NHS Trust (WHHT) is in the final for three prestigious national healthcare awards this year.

The trust is celebrating successful nominations as finalists in the BMJ Awards (British Medical Journal), the HSJ Awards (Health Service Journal) and the Nursing Times Workforce Summit and Awards.WHHT’s respiratory team is shortlisted in the BMJ ‘Respiratory Team of the Year’ award.

Nominated for their response to COVID-19, the team rapidly delivered a plan to reduce inpatient numbers during the pandemic to avoid being overwhelmed by the high demand for respiratory admissions.

The respiratory team achieved this by creating a virtual hospital to safely care for patients at home as well as creating a new integrated care pathway.

The HSJ Awards selected the trust’s orthopaedics trauma team as finalists in the ‘Driving Efficiency through Technology Award’ for their digital transformation project and redesign of the orthopaedic referral pathways.

Previously, the team would manage their cases via pagers, making notes and observations on paper or spreadsheets.

The pathway was transformed by adopting an integrated Virtual Fracture Clinic (VFC) and bleep-free referral system.

The HSJ has also shortlisted the trust’s BAME Connect staff network in its ‘Staff Engagement’ category.

The nomination recognised their work to reignite the network and help BAME staff feel protected and empowered, particularly during the pandemic.

The trust’s structured programme of clinical supervision for registered nurses is a top contender in the Nursing Times Workforce Summit and Awards in the ‘Best Wellbeing and Staff Engagement Initiative’.

The programme promotes wellbeing and mental health safeguarding, while supporting safe practice and is a boost for recruitment and retention.

The awards are testament to the hard work and dedication of staff as well as their embrace of innovative digital technologies to provide the safest care for patients while also transforming

how care is delivered in the future.