South West health inequalities projects shortlisted for national awards
Two health inequalities projects supported by Health Innovation South West have been shortlisted for the NHS Parliamentary Awards.
The initiatives have had a positive impact on patients with complex conditions such as heart failure and mental health issues living in deprived areas of North Devon.
Our role in both projects included support with proposal writing, design, delivery and evaluation, in addition to assistance with data collection and analysis. We also provided feedback and quality assurance on project plans and evaluation reports.
In collaboration with One Northern Devon, we supported a GP practice in Ilfracombe to improve access to personalised care, which has been shortlisted in the ‘Excellence in Primary Care and Community Care’ category of the NHS Parliamentary Awards.
The project trialled a person-centred primary care outreach model at Belle’s Place (a local hub) to enhance healthcare access and cancer testing for people in vulnerable parts of the community, as well as seeking earlier detection of mental health conditions and chronic illness such as cardiovascular disease.
The Belle’s Place Outreach Project has provided the opportunity for doctors in primary care to spend more time with vulnerable patients through a service that was informed by the community and designed to be flexible and inclusive to best meet the needs of service users.
After attending a drop-in session with a GP, one patient stated: “It was very helpful. It wasn’t in a hurry. I spent about 45 minutes in there. He went through everything… I had a response from the things that the doctor arranged for me within a week…”
In partnership with the Royal Devon University Healthcare’s Cardiology team at North Devon District Hospital, we developed a remote monitoring heart failure project which has been shortlisted in the ‘Future NHS’ category of the NHS Parliamentary Awards. This category seeks to highlight individuals, teams and organisations who are successfully embracing the opportunities that come from advances in medical technology, data, and connectivity.
The team used a digital platform called Clini-touch by Spirit Health to offer enhanced support via a remote monitoring service to people with heart failure, following a hospital admission or recent diagnosis.
This digital approach led to efficient triaging, risk assessment and safe monitoring of people in their homes, thereby saving travel time, accelerating treatment optimisation, and avoiding hospital admissions. The pilot improved access to healthcare services for people in underserved rural areas, increased early supported discharge, and reduced the time taken for treatment optimisation from 18 months to 10 weeks. Patients were positive about the efficient technology and the responsive service from the healthcare team.
Harold, a 75-year-old patient who took part in the pilot following a deterioration in his heart condition, was subsequently able to return to work on his farm.
He said: “I was very happy using the remote monitoring and felt I had fantastic back-up from the cardiology team. The monitoring equipment was so efficient and if I recorded any slight change the team were in contact with me within an hour to check on me, which made me feel very reassured.”
The NHS Parliamentary Awards recognise the outstanding contribution of NHS staff, volunteers and other health and care sectors, where members of parliament nominate innovative work happening in healthcare within their constituencies.
As well as being in the running for the NHS Parliamentary Awards, the remote monitoring project has been selected as a finalist in the PrescQIPP Awards in the ‘Data tools, and technology to support medicines optimisation’ category, which showcases how data tools or technology have been used to enhance medicines optimisation.
The PrescQIPP Awards, which is funded by the NHS, exist to highlight and share good practice for the benefit of patients.
All winners will be announced at both award ceremonies next month.
