Media Release
Date: 14 May 2014
RUH finalists for a host of national awards
The Royal United Hospital in Bath has received a further five nominations for national awards, following their win at the Student Nursing Times Awards last week.
The Acute Diabetes Team, led by Dr Marc Atkin, has been named as finalists in both the Diabetes Care and Patient Safety in Hospital Care categories at the HSJ Awards 2014, and Senior Sister Natasha Howard and team have been nominated in the Patient Safety in Hospital Care category of the awards for their work on improving hydration in an acute setting.
Dr Lesley Jordan and her team have also been nominated for an award in the Safety in Surgical Recovery category.
Speaking of the team's nomination, Dr Jordan said: "During all surgical operations it is very easy for a patient's temperature to fall and for them to become significantly cold. Being cold at the end of surgery can lead to increased complications such as wound infections, cardiac events and prolonged recovery from anaesthesia.
"For the last four years, the perioperative team at the RUH has put a considerable amount of effort into implementing processes to prevent intraoperative hypothermia for all our patients. This work has led to a 50% improvement in the number of patients being warm at the end of their surgery and now 90% of our patients are warm when they enter the Post Anaesthesia Care Unit (PACU).
"This has been a long project of continuous quality improvement and is still ongoing. Being selected as finalists for the award, from over 600 entries, is a fantastic testament to all the hard work and we are delighted to be acknowledged in this way."
In addition to the nominations received in the HSJ Awards, the RUH has also been shortlisted for a national award by the British Thoracic Society. The intermediate Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Team, led by Respiratory Consultant Dr Jay Suntharalingam, has been nominated in the Excellence and Innovation category.
The nominations reflect the imagination and hard work of the staff at the RUH and a Trust-wide commitment to safety and patient care.
Winners of the all of the awards will be announced in July.