2 OUH teams shortlisted for national patient safety awards

A palliative care project at Oxford University Hospitals (OUH) has been shortlisted for the Health Service Journal (HSJ) Patient Safety Awards – the shortlist was published today (Monday 19 June).

The Rapid Intervention in Palliative and End of Life Care (RIPEL) service is among the finalists in the Improving Care for Older People Initiative of the Year category. 

And the Preoperative Assessment Department at OUH is also shortlisted for this year’s HSJ Patient Safety Awards, in the Patient Safety in Elective Recovery Award category for the Oxford High Risk Anaesthetics Meeting.

Recognising the increasing need for palliative and end of life care, as well as offering patients greater choice in terms of where they want receive care, the RIPEL service aims to support people at the very end of their life whose choice is to die at home rather than in hospital.

The project is a unique partnership between OUH, Sobell House Hospice Charity, Macmillan Cancer Support, and Social Finance.

The project seamlessly integrates specialist palliative care at our hospitals with ongoing community care, ensuring responsiveness, increased patient safety, enhanced patient experience and care, and also reducing pressures on hospital beds.

Dr Victoria Bradley, Clinical Lead and Consultant in Palliative Medicine at OUH, said: "We’re delighted to be nominated for this award, it’s a real testament to the hard work of all the teams involved.  

"Ultimately, this service is about improving patient choice and experience – patients cared for by this service have spent at least 10 fewer precious days of their last year of life in hospital.  Patient choice is so important in palliative care – some people would prefer to die at home, in familiar and calm surroundings, and this service is all about enabling and supporting this."

Dr Anny Sykes, Interim Chief Medical Officer at OUH, added: "I am incredibly proud of our colleagues for this nomination.  As well as increased patient choice, patient safety is also a key focus of this service – collaborative working and enhanced communication across all of our palliative care systems ensures safe and effective continuation of care, wherever our patients choose to receive support."

Jason Dorsett, Chief Finance Officer at OUH, said: "Our social investment with our colleagues at Sobell House Hospice Charity, Social Finance, and Macmillan Cancer Support has not only enabled this project, but has paved the way to further such opportunities in other clinical disciplines, and offered us access to expertise that was not previously available.  The service has not only benefited the experience of our patients and their loved ones, but also enhanced the working lives of our staff."

Adrienne Betteley, End of Life Care Strategic Adviser at Macmillan Cancer Support, said: "This shortlisting is testament not only to the hard work of everyone involved but also to the quality of care that the team is able to offer people who are approaching the end of their lives. It also shows that with our partners Social Finance providing their expertise, and Macmillan's funding, we can invest in end of life care services so they can change the way they work. 

"The team have proved that it’s possible to support the choices of more patients about where they die and how they are treated, and also address capacity in the system."

Amelia Foster, Chief Executive at Sobell House Hospice Charity, said: "Sobell House Hospice Charity is delighted to co-fund the RIPEL service that supports patients to die at home if that is their wish. We are privileged to hear so many moving stories from those who have experienced the service, putting patients’ wishes at the heart of what we do and giving back precious time to friends and loved ones, allowing them to spend more quality time together with their dying person. It is wonderful that the incredible, compassionate work of the RIPEL teams has been recognised in the award shortlist."

Katy Saunders, Director of Health & Social Care at Social Finance, said: "By enabling a focus on the outcomes that really matter – care quality and patient choice – the RIPEL service demonstrates the transformative potential of social investment for our nation’s healthcare. I’m so proud of the way our partners at OUH, Sobell House and Macmillan have blazed a trail for outcomes-focused services that put people and community first."

• The winners of the HSJ Patient Safety Awards will be revealed in Manchester on 18 September – good luck to both of our OUH teams who are shortlisted