NHS Trust wins major national award for improving care for patients with lower limb ulcers page thumbnail

Patients in Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire with leg ulcers are benefitting from improved care thanks to innovative work which has now been recognised with a major national award.

The Tissue Viability Service and Community Nurses at Midlands Partnership NHS Foundation Trust (MPFT), the organisation which provides physical and mental health, learning disability and adult social care services across Staffordshire, Stoke-on-Trent and Shropshire, were victorious at the 2018 Nursing Times Awards in the Innovation in Chronic Wound Management category.

The Nursing Times Awards are the major national awards for the nursing profession and celebrate innovations that are improving nurse-led care throughout the NHS and independent healthcare sector. This year’s ceremony was held at the Grosvenor House Hotel in London on October 31.

Caroline Clarke, Tissue Viability Specialist Nurse at MPFT said: “This is such fantastic recognition for both the Tissue Viability Team and the Community Nursing Service who provide wound care both within the clinic and home setting. We are all so honoured and thrilled to have won this award against some really tough opposition and great work by other teams across the country.

“Just to be involved in the ceremony and to meet fellow nurses and teams from across the UK who have been doing fantastic work to benefit patients was very humbling but to win the award and bring it back to Staffordshire made us especially proud.

“This award recognises the work the service has carried out to improve timely, accurate assessment and diagnosis of lower limb wounds, which has resulted in patients being managed more quickly using best practice evidence resulting in their wounds healing quicker and improving their quality of life.

“We have been thrilled with the success of the project and the positive impact it is having on our patients and are excited at the potential there is to develop these initiatives even further to continue to enhance the service we offer.

“The work would not have been possible without the support, hard work and collaboration of many services within MPFT, including the IT, Estates and Medicines Management Teams, and we would like to thank everyone who has supported the journey.”

Alison Bussey, Director of Nursing at MPFT said she was proud of the award success and praised the team for their innovative approach to improving patient care.

She said: “Delivering a high quality of service which brings benefits to our patients and service users is vitally important to MPFT, so it is fantastic to see work such as this which has made tangible, positive differences to our patients and their quality of life.

“To win a Nursing Times Award is a wonderful achievement and it is testament to the hard work and dedication of the team to continually making improvements for their patients.”