Congratulations to our HSJ award winners
Three teams from across King’s Health Partners have won awards at the Health Service Journal (HSJ) Awards 2020. Teams were recognised in the following categories: Integrated Care Partnership of the Year; Health and Local Government Partnership Award and Workforce Initiative of the Year.
This past year was a year like no other for many of us. Yet our staff have continued to show exceptional hard work, determination and unwavering commitment to providing the best possible patient care during periods of unprecedented challenge. The incredible work of staff across King’s Health Partners has been recognised nationally and locally, with a number of colleagues noted at the HSJ Awards. The awards ceremony celebrated the diligent and selfless work of our staff over the past 12 months – a year which has been one of the most demanding on record for the NHS.
The first virtual HSJ Awards took place on the evening of 17 March and more than 4,500 health and social care staff watched online. The event was hosted by comedian, actor and charity campaigner, Sir Lenny Henry, alongside award-winning journalist and broadcaster, Victoria Derbyshire. You can read more about our winners and finalists below.
Integrated Care Partnership of the Year
Winner: Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust’s Rapid Diagnostic Centre (RDC)
The RDC helps patients who have vague or unexplained symptoms get an early or earlier diagnosis of cancer and other serious conditions. GPs and hospital doctors can refer patients with symptoms such as weight loss, fatigue, or unexplained pains for a range of tests. Increasingly over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic, serious mental health conditions are being identified as the cause of physical symptoms. The wellbeing of all patients attending the Centre is checked through questionnaires (GAD-7 & PHQ 9) provided on a tablet or via a link sent to a smart phone. Results are then added to the patient’s electronic record. This is the only example of full mental health integration at an RDC in England and is delivered in partnership with Integrating Mental & Physical healthcare: Research, Training & Services (IMPARTS) – a King’s Health Partners funded project.
Geraint Jones, Rapid Diagnostic Centre Lead for the South East London Cancer Alliance, said:
I’m delighted that the hard work and commitment of the whole team has been recognised by the HSJ Awards. All of us are motivated each day by the desire to help patients fully understand their health and make the right decisions on potential treatments, whether the diagnosis is cancer or not.
This is a group of patients who traditionally take longer to achieve a diagnosis and the rollout of RDCs is a real game changer in this regard. The RDC is especially important as we recover services from the COVID-19 pandemic. Reduced access to treatments or delaying appointments means a real risk of rising undiagnosed cases.
Health and Local Government Partnership Award
Winner: Healthy London Partnership and Greater London Authority - The London Homeless Health Response to COVID-19, involving colleagues from South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust
The Greater London Authority (GLA) and the Healthy London Partnership, including colleagues from South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust, won the 2020 HSJ Health and Local Government Award for their homeless health response to COVID-19 which included establishing the new Homeless Hotel Drug and Alcohol Service. Their work was vital in delivering substance misuse support to people experiencing rough sleeping in emergency accommodation during the COVID-19 pandemic in London.
Dr Emmert Roberts, an MRC Clinical Research Fellow in the National Addiction Centre, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience King’s College London and an Honorary Addiction Psychiatrist at the South London and the Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust and clinical lead for the service, said:
Recognition that addiction expertise was vital in ensuring a coordinated healthcare response across London during the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic is really valued. Bringing together the majority of London’s substance misuse providers at a time of crisis was a unique opportunity to find new ways of working together for the benefit of service users across the city.
Workforce Initiative of the Year
Winner: King’s College Hospital and South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trusts
In 2020, Kings College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust were successful in rapidly implementing a coordinated wellbeing response for hospital staff. The programme brought together multiple disciplines to proactively manage the impact of COVID-19 on its 14,000-person workforce. Supported by the Mind & Body Programme at King's Health Partners, the programme brought together the expertise of King’s College Hospital and South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust colleagues. This COVID-19 Staff Support and Wellbeing Programme was recognised for its ambition and demonstrable positive impact on patient and staff experiences within the health sector.
Dr Mary Docherty, consultant liaison psychiatrist, Department of Psychological Medicine, King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, who co-led the COVID-19 Staff Support and Wellbeing Programme, said:
This was a truly collaborative effort across organisations, professions and teams. Every single person went above and beyond driven by a desire to help, contribute and show their gratitude to all King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust staff for their remarkable ongoing work during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The award recognises not just the staff support programme but the incredible response across teams and departments to support their staff and look after their patients. The next year will be critical in sustaining and advancing the foundation created by this work. I hope the award serves to maintain that momentum and authorises all departments to be able to prioritize staff health and wellbeing alongside service demands.
Dr Claire McDonald, principal clinical psychologist, King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, also involved in the programme, said:
We are so delighted to receive this acknowledgement with, and on behalf of all of our colleagues who have worked so hard to support staff throughout the pandemic. The staff support programme has been continuously evolving and maturing since its inception and we are very excited to continue to adapt and develop our whole-organisation approach to staff wellbeing. A sense of feeling valued and cared for within our teams and the wider organisation is essential for promoting and maintaining staff resilience and good mental health, as well as ensuring the capacity to care optimally for our patients.
Sophie Gray, senior project manager, Mind & Body Programme, said:
The Mind & Body team at King’s Health Partners are delighted to have played a crucial role in enabling the rapid design and delivery of the staff health and wellbeing support offer during the COVID-19 pandemic. By convening groups of passionate multi-professionals from across our partnership we have truly demonstrated the incredible impact and value of our collective efforts. A huge congratulations to everyone who played a role in making this happen – you went above and beyond, and you should be extremely proud.
System Leadership Initiative of the Year
Highly commended: One Croydon Alliance
The One Croydon Alliance was highly commended as an organisation that is working together to tackle health inequalities and provide better quality care.
The One Croydon Alliance was formed in 2017 and is made up of Age UK Croydon, Croydon Council, Croydon Health Services NHS Trust, South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust, Croydon GP Collaborative and NHS South West London Clinical Commissioning Group.
Alongside our winners and highly commended, we are also incredibly proud of our five other King’s Health Partners HSJ Award finalists for their enormous amount of work and commitment.
Life Lines was recognised as a finalist in the Digitising Patient Services Initiative HSJ Award. The project was established in March 2020 to connect families who have been isolated from their loved ones in intensive care as a result of changes made to visiting policy in response to COVID-19, by offering virtual visits via 4G-enabled tablet devices. The project has now enabled more than 90,000 virtual visits across 180 NHS organisations.