30 November 2004

NI project team wins top patient safety award

NI has come first in the UK for patient safety at the annual Health Service Journal Awards for the second consecutive year.

The winning project was chosen from 33 entries from across the UK and is designed to reduce medication-related risk in local hospitals.

Commending the team, judges praised the projects’ use of data and attributed its success to its multidisciplinary approach and patient involvement. Staff from the project received their award at a special ceremony in London earlier this month.

Congratulating the winners, Chief Pharmaceutical Officer, Dr Norman Morrow, said: "This is a prestigious achievement and recognises the excellence of this initiative in Northern Ireland to promote and enhance the safe use of medicines. The pharmacist team have been particularly successful in applying their approach across a number of disciplines."

Speaking about their success, Team leader, Tracey Boyce, said: "The team is delighted to have won this prestigious patient safety award. I would like to take this opportunity to commend the enthusiasm, commitment and hard work of all the team members and also to thank all the staff in the Trusts and at the Department who have supported and assisted us in our work. We intend to continue to work towards meeting the future challenges of medicines governance in the HPSS."

The NI Medicines Governance Team are based at six acute hospitals across Northern Ireland and their work extends to 13 hospital trusts.

The Health Service Journal Awards began in 1982 and aim to recognise and reward every aspect of healthcare management: acute services, primary care, public health, chronic disease and mental health.

Almost every relevant discipline was represented in this year’s awards, from IT to patient safety.

The Chief Executive of the NHS, Sir Nigel Crisp, led the judging panel.

(SP)