https://www.gosh.nhs.uk/press-releases/gosh-team-wins-patient-safety-award/

GOSH team wins Patient Safety award

9 May 2014, 3:29 p.m.

GOSH patient safety team - BMJ awards May 2014

A project that aims to increase levels of patient safety across Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH) has been recognised in the 2014 BMJ awards. 

The ‘Pursuing Zero by Building Sustainable Foundations for Safety’ project was awarded the Patient Safety Team of the Year last night, acknowledging the continual efforts being made to improve experiences of patients and their families.

Launched in 2009, the BMJ awards are the UK's premier medical awards programme, recognising and celebrating the inspirational work done by doctors and their teams.

Led by 10 senior members of staff, the GOSH ‘Zero Harm’ project, aims to embed a culture of change and safety across the organisation. The programme centres on changing the culture, developing learning in Quality & Improvement (QI) and patient safety, working with parents and families and developing safer processes to protect children from harm. Measures introduced as part of the programme include a daily questionnaire completed by parents and patients focusing on medication errors, equipment problems, failures in communication, or problems with the way the care is organised.

Since the project’s launch in 2007, there have been promising results and patient safety has increased by a third.

Peter Lachman, deputy medical director at the hospital said: “We’re delighted that Great Ormond Street Hospital has won the Berwick Patient Safety Award at the BMJ Awards. The award recognises our work since 2007 to improve safety and decrease harm as part of the strategic objective of Zero Harm.

“The award is a reflection of the work of all the staff at Great Ormond Street Hospital to change the culture at the hospital and our partnership with parents and children to achieve continual improvement. The award and recognition it gives will be an impetus to continue the work we do to improve the experience of children and families.

“GOSH is a leader in paediatric patient safety and we will continue to work with the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (RCPCH) and UCL Partners in the Heath Foundation Closing the Gap programme. The programme aims to improve situational awareness to decrease deterioration of children in hospital. We will also work with other hospitals to achieve this aim."

Contact Information

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Notes to Editors

Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children NHS Foundation Trust is the country’s leading centre for treating sick children, with the widest range of specialists under one roof.
With the UCL Institute of Child Health, we are the largest centre for paediatric research outside the US and play a key role in training children’s health specialists for the future.
Our charity needs to raise £50 million every year to help rebuild and refurbish Great Ormond Street Hospital, buy vital equipment and fund pioneering research. With your help we provide world class care to our very ill children and their families.