Category > Patient safety

New resources launched to support patients preparing for a Structured Medication Review

News

A range of new evidence-based resources has been developed as part of the AHSN Network’s national Polypharmacy programme, which is led by Health Innovation West of England. These have been designed to support and help prepare people who have been invited for a Structured Medication Review with their GP, pharmacist or other healthcare professional. The…

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Work to support ‘high impact users’ of emergency departments wins national patient safety award

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We are a winner in the 2023 HSJ Patient Safety Awards for our work with local hospital trusts to improve outcomes for ‘high impact users’ of emergency departments. The SHarED (Supporting High impact users in Emergency Departments) programme was named ‘Urgent and Emergency Care Safety Initiative of the Year’ at the awards ceremony on 18…

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Study shines light on successes of PReCePT programme

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The success of PReCePT, a programme to increase the use of magnesium sulphate to prevent cerebral palsy in premature babies, has been highlighted in a new paper published in BJOG: An International Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology. The paper shares the findings of the Health Foundation funded PReCePT study, part of the national PReCePT programme…

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Improving maternity care – lessons from scaling up the PReCePT programme

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Enhanced quality improvement (QI) programmes may be necessary to support the adoption of best practice in maternity units with less developed integrated working practices, a new paper published in the Journal Implementation Science suggests. The research builds on ARC West’s evaluation of the AHSN Network’s national PReCePT programme, led by the West of England AHSN,…

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SHarED programme to support ‘high impact users’ of emergency departments shortlisted for national patient safety award

News

We are a finalist in the 2023 HSJ Patient Safety Awards for our work with local hospital trusts to improve outcomes for ‘high impact users’ of emergency departments (ED). Shortlisted in the ‘Urgent and Emergency Care Safety Initiative of the Year’ category, the SHarED (Supporting High impact users in Emergency Departments) programme was based on…

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Anti-racist training in the Black Maternity Matters pilot shown to increase the cultural competency of maternity staff

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Evaluation of the pilot phase of Black Maternity Matters shows the project has successfully helped to increase the cultural competency of maternity staff, with the value of the education and training programme demonstrated through both participants’ feedback as well as their resulting actions. Black women* are four times more likely to die during pregnancy or…

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Working together to reduce caesarean birth infections

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The West of England AHSN is working collaboratively with the region’s six acute maternity hospital trusts on a new project to reduce surgical site infections (SSI) following caesarean births. In March 2023 the first wave of four trusts launched their use of the locally developed PreCiSSIon (Preventing Caesarean Birth Surgical Site Infection) care bundle. The…

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Transforming asthma care across the South West of England

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The West of England and South West AHSNs, alongside the South West Severe Asthma Network (SWSAN), have been working with 10 hospital trusts across the South West of England to improve asthma pathways and enhance access to innovative treatments for adult patients. A new evaluation shows the collaborative project, which was awarded Pathway Transformation Funding…

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Evaluation finds PReCePT national programme effective in helping to prevent cerebral palsy in premature babies

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The PReCePT programme to increase the use of magnesium sulphate, a £1 injection that helps prevent cerebral palsy in premature babies, has been found effective according to an evaluation by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). The findings, led by researchers at the University of Bristol, are published in the Archives of…

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Launching our project to improve non-invasive ventilation

News

In December 2022, 24 colleagues from six regional acute hospital trusts and the West of England AHSN came together to launch a new collaborative project focused on improving patient outcomes from non-invasive ventilation (NIV). Watch our introductory video on Vimeo: Acute NIV is an evidence based, clinically effective and lifesaving treatment used to manage patients…

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