Barnsley Hospital Brings Home A Prestigious HSJ Patient Safety Award

Barnsley Hospital is delighted to announce that has won Quality Improvement Initiative of the Year at this year’s HSJ Patient Safety Awards - an esteemed awards programme, designed to encourage and drive improvements in culture and quality across the NHS.

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Press release
A [photo of the team being presented the award on stage

The HSJ Patient Safety Awards was hosted by top comedian and presenter Zoe Lyons, who expertly compered the proceedings and kept the audience of more than 1,000 healthcare workers entertained as the winners to all 25 categories were revealed during the evening.

All those in attendance were pleased to applaud and acknowledge the incredible efforts and achievement of collaborative teams and individuals across the UK, committed to delivering improved patient care and a culture of safety.

An incredible 415 entries were received for the 2024 HSJ Patient Safety Awards, with 206 organisations, projects and individuals making it to the final shortlist, having gone through two rounds of rigorous judging, overseen by an impressive panel of highly influential and respected figures within the healthcare community.

The nurse-led training package for patients aged 2-16, shortlisted in the Quality Improvement Initiative of the Year category, has saved an estimated 300 hours in patient waiting time and 32 hours of healthcare professional time.

Since implementation, over 30 per cent of head injury cases have been discharged this way, saving an estimated 300 hours in patient waiting time and 32 hours of healthcare professional time. Strict criteria ensures the safety of discharged children, and audits show no increase in return visits with injury complications. This initiative has empowered nursing staff, enhancing their independence.

Lead Nurse, Lucy Schofield said: “We are beyond proud to receive this National recognition for our service. I am honoured to work amongst a fabulous team of professional who strive to provide the highest standards of care for the children, young people and families of Barnsley and the surrounding area. We are truly honoured to have received this patient safety award and when we heard we’d won, we knew it would mean a huge amount to our colleagues as well as the wider community, so massive thanks to all who support us. It provides an incredible boost to staff morale when we receive professional recognition for our hard work and furthermore, it gives us the incentive to continually improve the services we deliver and focus on overall patient experience. 

“Everyone across the healthcare sector knows that the HSJ awards programme is an important and high-profile platform on which to share and showcase our work, which is why we’re so overwhelmed to have been named the overall winner in the 2024 Patient Safety Awards. We hope our success will encourage colleagues to follow in our footsteps next year.”

The Awards Ceremony is the highlight of the HSJ’s annual 2-day Patient Safety Congress (which took place on Monday 16  and17 September at Manchester Central), welcoming a diverse range of delegates, all working at the forefront of safety, quality and clinical excellence.

Editor of the Health Service Journal, Alastair McLellan, comments; “These really are two of the busiest days in our calendar, with the HSJ Patient Safety Awards ceremony playing a pivotal part in our 2024 Congress programme. It’s always wonderful to take some time out, to celebrate those working at the forefront of patient safety, delivering core services and always seeking new ways of overcoming some of the many challenges we’ll have discussed during the day. 

“This year was no exception - and it therefore gives me great pleasure to congratulate all the very worthy winners, including Barnsley hospital who scooped ‘top spot’ in the category of Quality Improvement Initiative. 

“The aim of this years’ conference was to provide a space for ‘honest conversations’ about how to create safety in a system under pressure – and I believe that our winners this year truly reflected and represented this ethos”

He adds; “Once again, it’s been so heartening to see such a huge level of entries, submitted by hard-working and dedicated teams who, in these ongoing times of budget uncertainty and workforce shortages, are striving to deliver improved patient care and to ensure patient safety, education and wellbeing is at the heart of decision making at all levels.

“So, many congratulations to Barnsley Hospital and a big welcome to the HSJ Patient Safety Awards family.”

The full list of winners and finalists for the 2024 HSJ Patient Safety Awards can be found at https://awards.patientsafetycongress.co.uk/winners-2024.