NHS Midlands and Lancashire is delighted to announce that our work to develop a community of practice for stopping the over medication of people (STOMP) with learning disabilities, autism or both has been shortlisted for the Innovation and Improvement in Reducing Healthcare Inequalities Award at the HSJ Awards. The project was a collaboration with NHS England and Specialist Pharmacy Services. The shortlisting recognises our work as an outstanding contribution to healthcare and secures us a place at the prestigious awards ceremony later this year on 16 November.

A ‘record-breaking’ 1456 entries have been received for this year’s Awards, with 223 projects and individuals reaching the final shortlist, making it the biggest awards programme in the award’s 43-year history. The high volume – and exceptional quality – of applications once again mirrors the impressive levels of innovation and care continually being developed within the UK’s healthcare networks.

Our project aimed to create a community of practice for healthcare professionals looking after patients with learning disabilities, autism or both. The purpose was to up-skill pharmacists working in primary care networks to conduct holistic structured medication reviews for individuals with those conditions. By providing extensive training and support, we gave pharmacists the confidence and knowledge to review the medication intake of patients with unique needs.

This national project 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 is also a finalist at this year’s HSJ Patient Safety Awards.

Jonathan Horgan, Director of Pharmacy Services at NHS ML, said:

“We are really pleased to have been shortlisted for another HSJ award. This is a testament to the staff and the partnership working with wider stakeholders who were part of this project. The team works incredibly hard and is always focused on improving patient care and reducing healthcare inequalities. 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 improving healthcare this year.”

The event will not only reflect the HSJ Awards’ enduring ethos of “sharing best practice, improving patient outcomes and innovating drivers of better service” but will also serve as a timely and well-deserved thank you to the sector during the 75^th anniversary year of the NHS.

The 2023 awards judging panel was once again made up of a diverse range of highly influential and respected figures within the healthcare community, including; Crystal Oldman, Chief Executive, Queen’s Nursing Institute; Dr Habib Naqvi MBE, Chief Executive, NHS Race and Health Observatory; Anne-Marie Vine-Lott, Director of Health, Vodafone; Sir Jim Mackey, National Director of Elective Recovery, NHS England, as well as a range of esteemed Chief Executives from NHS Trusts across the UK.

The full list of nominees for the 2023 HSJ awards can be found at https://awards.hsj.co.uk/ alongside details of the Awards partners at https://awards.hsj.co.uk/partners.