KGH teams commended in national awards for the way they manage blood clot risks

The Anticoagulation and Venous Thromboembolism (VTE) teams received their Thrombosis UK VTE Awards on November 29 in the House of Commons.

Lead Nurse for Anticoagulation, Tess Page, and VTE Prevention Nurse, Sara Williams, were presented with certificates and glass trophies on their achievement by Lyn Brown MP, Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Thrombosis, and Aidan Fowler, National Director of Patient Safety for England.

The awards celebrate outstanding practice across healthcare services to prevent and embed the effective management of venous thromboembolism (VTE) – a condition which occurs when a blood clot forms in a vein.

The KGH Anticoagulation team received a second place ‘commended’ award in one category for enhancing the patient experience and the hospital’s VTE team received a third place in another for quality improvement.

Tess said: “It was amazing to be in the presence of so many people delivering excellence in VTE prevention and care – it was quite overwhelming.

“The awards were on from 2pm-5pm in the Terrace Pavilion in the House of Commons and it was very thrilling. We were delighted that our two entries were commended in this national competition to showcase the best in VTE care.”

Sara said: “It was a pleasure to be able to represent all of staff who work so hard within the inpatient setting across the organisation to deliver such high standards of care to our community.

“The recognition of KGH on a national level is very humbling and I am very proud to be able to work with such fantastic teams to deliver excellence in VTE care.”

The Thrombosis UK VTE Awards Judging Panel commented, “Significant impact on raising the profile of VTE prevention within the Kettering General Hospital, and each team’s achievements in promoting guidance set out by the National Institute of Health and Care Excellence (NICE).

“This is impressive work by both teams, it is clear to see how the extensive work across staff, resources and learning is placing VTE prevention at the heart of patient safety while in the care of Kettering general Hospital.”

Divisional Head of Nursing Emma Mills said: “It was an extremely proud moment as the Head of Nursing to see the teams receive these awards.

“The care and professionalism that they deliver every day for our patients is exceptional.

“The team also work with their colleagues from across the hospital to ensure that there is a focus on not only the correct treatment, should a patient present with a clot, but also that the correct prevention measures are in place to prevent them in the first instance. Such well-deserved accolades and a well done to all involved.”

KGH’s Chief Nursing Officer, Jayne Skippen, said: “I am so proud of our teams. The outstanding work they have done to improve patient care has been recognised at the highest level nationally.

“Venous thromboembolism prevention and treatment is an extremely important part of hospital care and our teams do an excellent job at providing cutting edge care and awareness promotion for this condition.”

For the quality improvement category the team demonstrated how it had significantly raised the profile of VTE prevention at KGH and had been working very hard to underline its importance with clinical teams and directly with patients.

This included a VTE training package for the induction of all new and existing staff, a dedicated Practice Improvement Facilitator team to support VTE prevention, and audit work to determine the best place to target training.

Patients benefit from having a dedicated VTE team who work together, are visible, and monitor and support all ways of reducing the risks of blood clots.

The VTE patient experience award was for outstanding work undertaken to improve care in ways that recognise the physical and psychological impact of a VTE and engage and educate patients in their treatment.

Any patient who has a VTE is flagged on the hospital’s IT system and then a nurse specialist follows up with the team looking after them, meets the patient, discusses the diagnosis, and supports them with information and advice.