The Princess Alexandra Hospital NHS Trust (PAHT) is delighted to announce that it has received a prestigious international accolade in recognition of its work to improve the outcomes for patients with sepsis.
Today, (Monday, 16 November), the organisers of the UNIVANTS of Healthcare Excellence, a leading international awards programme, revealed that PAHT has been awarded a Global Achievement Award. The award has been given with a standout designation for achieving meaningful outcomes for patients.
These are prestigious global awards created by health technology organisation Abbott, in partnership with seven leading professional societies, institutions, and associations across healthcare disciplines, with a common vision to inspire and celebrate healthcare excellence. The panel received hundreds of applications from 141 countries, with PAHT as one of only 24 winners around the world.
A multi-disciplinary team of PAHT clinicians have been acknowledged for working on the introduction of the Procalcitonin (PCT) test for the early identification of sepsis at the emergency department (ED) in summer 2019. The level of Procalcitonin in the blood increases significantly in systemic bacterial infections causing sepsis and this test supports rapid diagnosis and treatment.
The blood test is taken immediately when the patient presents with possible sepsis and the results are available within an hour. A raised level alerts doctors and nurses to patients whose clinical condition may deteriorate rapidly, allowing for very close monitoring and early review by a senior doctor. This helps to continue to reduce the devastating consequences of sepsis.
Additionally, the ED team presented this quality improvement work to UCLPartners Academic Health Science Network in November 2019. This follows PAHT’s participation in a competition via UCLP, where PAHT was one of the five winners of £10,000 project funding.
The introduction of the PCT test continues to be complemented by a variety of work to improve outcomes for patients with sepsis. This includes the use of the new blood culture analyser in the Emergency Department (ED) to support earlier diagnosis, as well as in November, two new machines to measure PCT will be installed. There is also a comprehensive programme of teaching and education for clinical teams on the early identification and treatment of sepsis and sharing learning through a network of sepsis champions.
Miss Helen Pardoe, chief clinical information officer and consultant surgeon at The Princess Alexandra Hospital NHS Trust, said: “To receive international recognition for the work done here in Harlow to fight sepsis is an amazing achievement.
“We will continue our work to improve outcomes from sepsis for our patients, families and carers.”