Staff at Lancashire Teaching Hospitals in Preston have been shortlisted as finalist for the UK Parkinson’s Excellence Network Awards, which will be held virtually, for the first time, on October 28. They have been shortlisted for the Sharing Learning and Education and have a chance to be the overall winner of the Excellence Award.
To qualify for the ‘Sharing Learning and Education’ category, the entry must have rolled out a new way of working based on a project or research evaluation and have shown, or cascaded learning across teams or brought people together to address a certain issue.
Lancashire Teaching Hospitals’ entry - Parkinson's Medication - Get it on Time! - was shortlisted from 30 entries submitted in August and is one of six shortlisted finalists, each of whom will be either highly commended or a category winner, with one finalist going on to win the overall Excellence Network Award. All categories have been newly introduced this year.
The overall objective was to improve the knowledge and understanding of staff within Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust of why medications need to be given on time when people with Parkinson’s enter its hospitals. An audit highlighted that it needed to address the need for medications to be given on time. Initially face to face teaching sessions were delivered but it was identified that another way was needed to reach as many members of staff as possible. Thus, they developed two E-Learning courses - one for members of staff needing a more in-depth knowledge of Parkinson’s medications and another for staff who do not dispense medications.
Finalists were either nominated for an award by a member of the Parkinson’s Community or a peer working in health and social care, for making a difference to Parkinson’s care.
Applying for the awards was a two-stage process, requiring an abstract submission, an e-poster and a three-minute video submission.
Judges, who include a panel of multidisciplinary healthcare professionals, as well as members of the community living with the condition, praised the award entrants for their overwhelming dedication to improve the experience of people with Parkinson’s.
Excellence Network Associate Director, Dr Rowan Wathes said:
“I want to congratulate Lancashire Teaching Hospitals on its well-deserved success in being shortlisted, and being among the movers and shakers at the forefront of exceptional Parkinson’s care.
We were bowled over by the range of applications and the quality of services showcased. It is an honour and a privilege to shine a light on these exceptional healthcare professionals.
You are a beacon of good practice inspiring service improvement”
The winners will be announced at the virtual event co-hosted by Parkinson’s UK’s President Jane Asher and Terence Manning, a former head teacher, living with Parkinson’s, who judged entries.
Jane Asher said: “I love these awards. They give us a chance to celebrate great care for people affected by Parkinson’s. Care that makes a difference not only in the consulting room, but to peoples’ everyday lives in the community.”
Terence said: “As someone living with Parkinson’s, I am proud and excited to know the innovative service improvements reflected in the shortlisted entries are being made for people like me across the UK. These awards are so important because they let our clinicians and service providers know how much we truly appreciate them. They also show that our community are active participants, co-creating and sharing how services for them can be improved.”
The UK Parkinson’s Excellence Network was established in 2015 by Parkinson’s UK, alongside leading clinicians, to drive improvements in Parkinson’s care. It aims to achieve consistent, high-quality Parkinson’s services by sharing evidence, training, tools to support best practice and collaboration. It ensures the views and experiences of people affected by this complex, long-term neurological condition are at the forefront of service improvement.
Parkinson’s is a neurological condition for which there is currently no cure. Every hour, 2 people in the UK are told they have Parkinson's and it affects 145,000 people across the UK.
