Ashford and St. Peter’s Hospitals Older People Short Stay Unit (OPSSU) & OPSSU team has been shortlisted in the ‘Improving value in the care of frail older patients’ category of the 2018 HSJ Value Awards.
The HSJ Value in Healthcare Awards seek to recognise and reward outstanding efficiency and improvement by the NHS. These awards recognise excellent use of resources, but they also seek out examples of demonstrable improvement in outcomes, both within back office functions and clinical initiatives.
Led by Consultant Orthogeriatrician, Specialty Lead Clinician and OPSSU Creator, Dr Radcliffe Lisk, the team focused on reducing the Length of Stay for the over 75’s. The team used the Institute of Healthcare Improvement’s Model of Improvement as a framework to guide the stages of the project. This included having a senior OPSSU team member in emergency areas such as A&E, Clinical Decision Unit (CDU) and Acute Medical Unit (AMU) and opening a new Older People Short Stay Unit – ensuring that patients receive a comprehensive assessment soon after being admitted to hospital by a highly specialized multi-disciplinary team, receive good continuity of care and are discharged more quickly.
Dr Clarence Chikusu, current OPSSU Lead Clinician, said: “We are absolutely delighted to be shortlisted for a HSJ Value Award in the ‘Improving value in the care of frail older patients’ category. It is a wonderful privilege and honour to be recognized for our work in this way, and the team have been magnificent with everything they have done to improve the quality of care for our Senior Adults. I am very proud of them.”
Dr Radcliffe Lisk said “Providing good care for our elderly patients can be a challenge. They often come into hospital as an emergency, but in treating the problem they present with, we need to consider the other, complex health issues they may have. There are also considerations around co-morbidities such as memory loss, dementia, mobility, ability to live independently at home and family support. Comprehensively assessing all of their needs as soon as they come into hospital means we can put the right care plan in place and think ahead for when the time comes for them to go home.”
The winners will be announced at an awards ceremony on 7 June at Manchester Central.
Pictured above: The OPSSU Team. From Left to Right: Dr Radcliffe Lisk, Cecile Roma, Tze Ong, Marlyn Pagkalinawan, Liliya Mowles, Maham Khan, Paula Watts, Kristine Reyes, Charlotte Spencer, Laura Kalanzi, Lani Pasion, Dr Clarence Chikusu
