Harlow hospital’s improvements win Trust of the Year accolade

A doctor who has helped ensure that patient tests are processed more quickly at Princess Alexandra Hospital Trust (PAHT) is just one of more than 300 staff who made pledges for change as part of a national campaign to bring improvements – however large or small – to NHS services. Their pledges were so impressive, that PAHT was crowned Champion Trust of the Year at a prestigious ceremony last week.

The culmination of the national Fab Change Week was an awards ceremony organised by the Academy of Fabulous Stuff – which aims to bring improvements to healthcare by encouraging staff to bring about changes that make a difference in their area of work. The Princess Alexandra Hospital was named overall winner and Trust of the Year.

Among the 300 plus pledges made during Fab Change Week, Dr Marie Parsons and her team undertook to implement efficiency changes in the work of the pathology department. Samples arrive by pod at the pathology lab from the Emergency Department (ED). By introducing a rota system for 10 minute pod checks, sample processing by the laboratory has become much faster. Following the change, 95 per cent of samples for ED are turned around in just 60 minutes – a year ago the figure was 90 per cent.

Dr Parsons said: “A small change like this has a big impact on services and patient experience. A faster turnaround of samples in pathology means shorter waits for patients in ED.”

Other pledges ranged from rolling out e-prescribing by clinicians and improving information gathering by the vascular team, to enhancing staff wellbeing.

Presenting the certificate and cup to the PAHT team at the ceremony held at the O2 arena, Jon Wilks, Co-Founding Director of the Academy of Fabulous Stuff, said: “The whole trust embraced the spirit of Fab Change Week from ward to board. It’s not just down to the number of pledges made during this week, but the number that have been turned into truly transformative actions to address the challenges of the organisation and kick start a programme of grass root improvements.”

Simon Stevens, NHS England Chief Executive Officer and Professor Jane Cummings, Chief Nurse, NHS England, were two of the judges who selected us for this award.

Lance McCarthy, Chief Executive of Princess Alexandra Hospital Trust said: “I am extremely proud that the trust has achieved this award. Our priority is the quality and safety of all of our patients and our staff are fully committed to constantly improving care and overall patient experience. This is demonstrated by the wealth of ideas that have emerged that will continue to improve our services.”