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North East healthcare organisations boosted by £450k funding package

Almost half a million pounds has been awarded to healthcare organisations across the region to fund six patient safety projects.

The funding has come from the Academic Health Science Network for the North East and North Cumbria (AHSN NENC) as part of the five-year Patient Safety Collaborative (PSC) work programme, which was launched last year.

The programme aims to improve healthcare in the region by identifying and supporting projects that support the spread of good practice across a range of areas that can help transform the safety of patients.

Tony Roberts, AHSN NENC Interim Programme Lead for the Patient Safety Collaborative, said: “We are pleased to be able to announce the six projects that have received funding as part of the PSC work programme here in the North East and North Cumbria.

“In order to receive funding, each project has clearly demonstrated a need to improve care in a specific area. This means we can be confident that these improvement projects will help transform services for patients across the region.”

The six funded projects are each collaborations between the NHS and other organisations from a range of sectors, universities, the voluntary sector and commercial partners and will build on existing initiatives to spread learning more widely. The funded projects are:

• A project led by North East Quality Observatory System (NEQOS) and supported by Northumberland, Tyne and Wear NHS Foundation Trust to measure the quality of care delivered to patients with sepsis or Community Acquired Pneumonia;
• ‘Preventing Fracture in the North’, which is a project to identify and treat those most at risk of broken bones, led by Newcastle Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust;
• A South Tees Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust led project, to speed up the identification of patients with acute kidney injury;
• ‘The Resilience’ project, which aims to address the difficulties in recognising and responding to severe illness in young children, which is led by Newcastle Hospitals, NHS Foundation Trust;
• A South Tyneside NHS Foundation Trust led project, which aims to reduce avoidable pressure ulcers (bedsores);
• A project aimed at reducing the number of falls taking place in hospital, led by Newcastle Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.

Oliver James, AHSN NENC Medical Director, said: “It was clear from the high standard of applications received that many healthcare organisations in the region are aligned with the core aims of the programme - to help transform processes that impact on the safety of patients.

“However, collaborative working is key to the success of these projects, and we are delighted with the spread of organisations involved and the clear commitment to partnership working to address each of these key topics regarding patient safety.”

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