Two Black Country NHS Trusts, working to improve patients’ experience across their hospital and community services, have been shortlisted for a total of seven national awards.
Walsall Healthcare NHS Trust is up for three accolades in the Patient Experience Network National Awards (PENNA) 2024, while The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust (RWT) is in the running for four.
Walsall has been nominated for Integration and Continuity of Care, Social Partnership Working to Improve the Experience (Walsall Connected) and Team of the Year (including Complaints and Patient Advice and Liaison Service) with the entry title Impactful Team Excellence.
Wolverhampton is nominated in Making Complaints Count with its entry Care at the end of life: Unlocking the learning in letters of formal complaint as well as Measuring, Reporting and Acting – Using Insight for Improvement – Analysis of End of Life Complaints.
The Trust has also been shortlisted in Engaging and Championing the Public with the entry title The Holistic Opportunities Preventing Exclusion (HOPE) Project: Building a partnership between healthcare, the voluntary sector and grass root organisations and Support for Caregivers, Friends, and Family.
PENNA is the first and only awards programme to recognise best practice in patient experience across all facets of health and social care in the UK.
Garry Perry, Associate Director Patient Voice (Experience) for Walsall Healthcare, said: “We are extremely proud to have been shortlisted for the work our teams are doing to improve patient experience for all the communities who use our services.
“In Walsall, we have been collaborating with Walsall Council to set up a Walsall Connected hub in the Manor Hospital.
“This helps people gain or expand their digital skills and improve their access to online services. The initiative has been well received and it is so rewarding to see people grow in confidence and for our Trust to be involved in something so inclusive.
“The Team of the Year award would be an amazing accolade to win but we’re thrilled to have even been shortlisted as it recognises our efforts to make a positive difference to everyone who uses healthcare services.”
The HOPE project addresses issues around the support needs of people of Wolverhampton affected by mental health due to social isolation or other factors as a long-term consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic. This includes patients, their carers and their other family and friends.
The initiative facilitated recruitment, training and support of volunteers to work alongside the citywide Social Prescribing Service facilitating activities in their own community and becoming befrienders and digital buddies for those in need.
Walsall Healthcare has also been invited to present at this year’s awards ceremony in Birmingham in October as last year’s winners with the Little Voices project.
This saw school pupils act as “inspectors” for paediatric services at the Manor Hospital – sharing their feedback with senior leaders in the organisation.