South Eastern HSC Trust Trust Teams Win Top Awards

Trust Teams win NI Healthcare awards.

Congratulations to the Dermatology Hub, Ward 25 Ulster Hospital  and Dr Siobhan Flanagan and the Healthcare in Prison Clinical Addiction Team who picked up prestigious awards at the Northern Ireland Healthcare Awards 2021. 

Congratulations also to Trust finalists the Smoking Cessation Team in the COPD/Asthma category, the Outpatient Antimicrobial and Enhanced Care at Home Pharmacy Team, Ulster Hospital in the Hospital Pharmacy Team of the Year category and to the Community Addictions Team in the Managing Substance Dependency in the Community category.

The Dermatology Hub won the Management of Psoriasis category for their quality improvement project ‘SPOTS in Derm: Implementation of Tools to Encourage Safe & Effective Prescribing of Systemic Drugs in Dermatology’. 

The project was undertaken to address the variation in clinical practice and lack of standardised care when prescribing systemic drugs in dermatology, with the overall objective of improving the care of patients with skin conditions such as Psoriasis. 

The team’s first intervention was to develop 10 checklists for the most commonly prescribed systemic drugs.  The checklists summarised the baseline investigations, patient counselling and monitoring required for each individual drug. These were then made available in the main dermatology outpatient clinic in Ward 25 Ulster Hospital. 

Dr Siobhan Flanagan and the Healthcare in Prison Clinical Addiction Team were successful in winning the Managing Substance Dependency in the Community category for their initiative to develop a more comprehensive, integrated and seamless addiction service for service users within the NI Prison Service – Maghaberry, Magilligan and Hydebank Wood College. 

Several aims were determined such as the reduction of the waiting list and waiting times for assessment and treatment and the improvement of access to Opioid Substitution Therapy.  The project also worked towards reducing the risk of accidental drug death in prison and in the immediate post-release period, addressing prescription drug misuse and introducing tier three alcohol treatment and alcohol related brain damage assessment.  

Through development of the programme, all referrals to the addiction service are screened and special groups are prioritised for assessment and treatment  on the basis of their health needs.

Trust Chairman Jonathan Patton praised the high quality entries from staff for their innovative and progressive treatments developed to improve the quality of life and outcomes for those we care for.

Mr Patton said:”These advancements are typical of the culture within the Trust – that stretching further – that striving to make healthcare better. The NI Healthcare Awards gave an opportunity to showcase that work which can now be rolled out  across the Region to benefit even more of our population. I am incredibly proud of what our teams have achieved over and above the heavy workload they shoulder.”

Now in their 22^nd year  the annual awards ceremony is dedicated to celebrating those whose exceptional expertise and contribution to their profession have transformed the provision of healthcare for the better.