Hospital’s patient safety initiative shortlisted at National Healthcare Awards

BMI The Highfield Hospital’s successful implementation of a national patient safety initiative has been nominated for a prestigious award at this year’s Independent Healthcare Awards.

The annual awards recognise outstanding quality and innovation in the independent healthcare sector, and reward teams and individuals whose dedication and commitment help to make the UK private healthcare sector truly world-class.

The initiative at BMI The Highfield Hospital in Rochdale is part of a group wide policy from its parent company, BMI Healthcare, whose Thrombosis Board has been shortlisted in the Risk Management category of the awards for its group wide ‘VTE Exemplar Status’ accreditation.

The accreditation is given by the Department of Health, and it assesses patients who are at risk from VTE conditions, which include deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolism. VTE is responsible for 25,000 largely preventable deaths each year in UK hospitals. This is more than the number of combined deaths from breast cancer, AIDS and traffic accidents, and more than twenty-five times the number of people who die from MRSA. VTE can be as life threatening as clots, usually formed in the veins of a patient’s leg, which can break loose and travel through the heart and into the pulmonary arteries where they cause a blockage.

BMI Healthcare recently became the first private hospital group to receive ‘VTE Exemplar Status’ accreditation. To achieve this status, healthcare professionals identify patients at risk and take all possible action to reduce the risk of development of a VTE. BMI

Healthcare’s Thrombosis Board produced a Corporate Policy that was implemented at BMI The Highfield Hospital alongside new risk assessment tools, patient information leaflets, prophylaxis (prevention) protocols, training packages, and regular audits to ensure on-going compliance

Marge Falconer, Executive Director at BMI The Highfield Hospital said, “We are delighted that the initiative implemented at BMI The Highfield Hospital, with the support from our parent company BMI Healthcare, has been recognised with this award. This nomination is a testament to all staff at the hospital who worked hard to develop and implement the thrombosis service with our patient’s safety at the core.”

The winner of the Risk Management category will be announced at the Independent Healthcare Awards Gala Dinner on 8 October 2013.