NHS Midlands and Lancashire (NHS ML) has received three further nominations at the HSJ Patient Safety Awards in addition to the reducing mortality project shortlisted for HSJ Patient Safety Awards 2023.

Our Medicines Management and Optimisation team has excelled this year, being shortlisted not just for one, but for three projects in the highly esteemed HSJ Patient Safety Awards 2023. Our hard working staff and the effective joint working with stakeholders have been recognised in this way. We are passionate about patient care and safety and are pleased to be having an impact across a range of areas.

Out of an astounding 515 entries received this year, NHS ML Medicines Management and Optimisation team has joined the final shortlist of 209 exceptional organisations, projects, and individuals. The sheer volume and exceptional quality of the applications bear testimony to the remarkable commitment and passion for patient care within the UK healthcare networks.

The projects

The first project focuses on enhancing inhaler prescribing practice. Through a comprehensive audit of inhaler prescriptions, we discovered that ingredient duplication within the same therapeutic drug class was often overlooked as a potential interaction or cause of side effects. We identified 360 patients with inhaler ingredient duplication errors, and nearly one-third of these errors persisted even during respiratory reviews. Armed with these audit results, we engaged with individual practices and initiated a thorough review of prescribing policies. To prevent future errors, we developed an easy-to-use reference guide for inhaler prescribing and extensively educated staff in primary and secondary care as well as community pharmacy settings.

Our second shortlisted project centres on promoting the Community of Practice Learning Disability and Autism pilot, which aimed to up-skill pharmacists working in primary care networks to conduct holistic structured medication reviews for individuals with a learning disability and/or autism. By providing extensive training and support, the pilot empowered primary care network pharmacists to deliver comprehensive medication reviews that consider the unique needs of these patients. This national project, co-produced with NHS England Health Improvement Pharmacy leads and the NHS Specialist Pharmacy Service, not only identified the learning and development needs of pharmacists but also delivered a model of support and collected data to demonstrate its success. The positive feedback received from participants and users further validated the effectiveness of this model, making it an ideal candidate for wider implementation.

The project team, consisting of NHS England Health Improvement Pharmacy leads, the NHS Specialist Pharmacy Service, and NHS ML, developed a model of support to up skill pharmacists to undertake structured medication reviews (SMRs) in these patients.  Participant and user feedback was positive, recommendations for the wider system were made, and the model is available for wider implementation.

The third project that secured our spot on the shortlist focuses on enhancing the safety of patients prescribed clozapine, a vital medication for managing specific mental health conditions. Working collaboratively with our mental health trust, the team identified that 36% of all patients prescribed clozapine by secondary care did not have this medication documented in their patient medication record in primary care. This created considerable risk in three ways: missed drug interactions, missed side effects, and compromised transfer of care. The team reviewed 220 patient records and added clozapine if absent. Working alongside our information technology colleagues, the team created and added a safety protocol on the prescribing system of every local GP practice which alerted clinicians to the potentially fatal complications of clozapine treatment.

The expertise of our team has been acknowledged by the judging panel, consisting of influential and respected figures within the healthcare community. They recognised our clinical and specialist excellence, as well as our unwavering commitment to enacting organisation-wide change and driving innovation.

Being shortlisted for these prestigious awards is not only an extraordinary honour but also a testament to our dedication and passion for improving patient care. We are truly humbled to have the opportunity to showcase our achievements and contribute to the advancement of patient safety on such a prominent stage.

Jonathan Horgan, Director of Pharmacy Services, said:

“We are really pleased to have been shortlisted for all three of our entries as finalists across two categories for the prestigious HSJ Patient Safety Awards 2023. This is a testament to the staff and the partnership working with wider stakeholders who were part of these entries. The team works incredibly hard and are always focused on improving patient care and safety. As an NHS support organisation which works across wider organisations and borders, we want to have the widest impact and roll out best practice as much as possible. Getting recognition through awards helps us demonstrate the value and innovation we can bring to solve local problems. We are looking forward to the awards ceremony to celebrate the collective efforts and learn about the best examples contributing to patient safety this year.”