As 2024 comes to a close, we’re delighted to recognise the achievements of our NHS colleagues with the fifth annual Consultant Connect Awards.
As well as the glory of victory, all winners are receiving a donation to a charity of their choice. There are two categories:
- Best Overall Projects
- Special Achievement – click here to find out the winners
Read on to find out the Best Overall Projects winners, or click below to quickly navigate:
- Biggest Growth
- Innovation – Mental Health
- Innovation – Dermatology
- Innovation – Ophthalmology
- Innovation – Elective Recovery Fund
- Referral Triage
Best Overall Projects 2024
And the winners are…
WINNER for Biggest Growth:
University Hospital Wishaw, NHS Lanarkshire
We are pleased to announce University Hospital Wishaw in NHS Lanarkshire as the ‘Biggest Growth’ Award winner for 2024. The hospital launched the Acute Paediatrics line via Consultant Connect in July, providing primary and emergency care users with a single point of access for urgent specialist paediatric input. The introduction of the Acute Paediatrics line, which has received 4,225 calls to date, led to the overall usage of Consultant Connect in NHS Lanarkshire increasing by 200%, therefore ensuring patients are treated in the right place for their care the first time. Of all queries made to Acute Paediatrics, 90% of calls were answered the first time, and within 15 seconds, on average.
‘It has been a pleasure working with the Acute Paediatric Team at University Hospital Wishaw to get this service up and running. The work the team has done has led to a huge increase in Consultant Connect calls, 40% of which have resulted in acute referrals being avoided. I look forward to continuing to work with the Acute Paediatric Team throughout 2025.’ – David Marsh, Account Manager at Consultant Connect.
HIGHLY COMMENDED for Biggest Growth:
University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust
With their Consultant Connect project launching in 2016, we’re delighted to recognise the University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust (UHL) for the ‘Biggest Growth’ Award. The team have worked hard to add a number of additional local specialties to their Consultant Connect service, including Haematology, Gastroenterology and Microbiology, ensuring that healthcare professionals across the ICB have access to all specialty teams in one place. In the last 12 months, 4,700 calls have been placed within the ICB, within 28 seconds on average, resulting in 54% of patients avoiding an unnecessary hospital visit.
‘UHL have really embraced Advice & Guidance at the Trust in 2024, scaling up the number of services available to their clinicians. This has improved the breadth of advice available to the local primary care teams which has been much welcomed across the patch’ – Nick Smith, Account Manager at Consultant Connect.
WINNER for Innovation – Mental Health:
Kent and Medway NHS and Social Care Partnership Trust
We are excited to announce Kent and Medway NHS and Social Care Partnership Trust (KMPT) as the winner of our new ‘Innovation – Mental Health’ Award for their originality. Community mental health professionals at KMPT access physical health advice within 21 specialties from out-of-area NHS consultants on our National Consultant Network (NCN), to aid them in providing the best patient care. Since the launch of the project in December 2023, 370 messages and calls have been sent/placed by community mental health teams for specialist advice. All messages were responded to within 24 hours, reducing clinical risk and improving patient care. As a result, 95% of queries resulted in the patient commencing the relevant treatment plan immediately and avoiding an unnecessary hospital transfer.
‘The Community Mental Health Teams at KMPT have embraced access to the NCN with enthusiasm. The teams’ utilisation of the service, in particular Cardiology, has greatly improved the treatment and waiting times experienced by their patients. The hard work of the Trust has also been recently recognised by the HSJ awards as a shortlisted entry for Prescribing Initiative of the Year.’ – Bronwen Dunning, Account Manager at Consultant Connect.
WINNER for Innovation – Dermatology:
Sheffield Urgent Skin Cancer Pathway
We are delighted to announce the Sheffield Urgent Skin Cancer Pathway as the winner of this year’s ‘Innovation – Dermatology’ Award. Following challenges against the Faster Diagnosis Standard (FDS) for skin cancer, NHS South Yorkshire ICB decided to implement Consultant Connect tech to help reduce the number of unnecessary referrals received on the Urgent Suspected Cancer (USC) skin pathway by ensuring only those meeting the criteria were referred. In November, a front door USC dermatology triage project was launched, whereby when a patient presents with symptoms suggestive of skin cancer, the clinician takes the necessary images and makes a referral to Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (STH). Within the Consultant Connect platform, an out-of-area NHS consultant dermatologist triages the referral and images, and either accepts the referral to commence on its journey to STH, or returns the patients to the referring clinician with a detailed management plan.
‘We are really pleased to have launched the new STH USC referral pathway, with the initial feedback being overwhelmingly positive. With many complex factors at play, such as the number of stakeholders (primary, secondary and community care providers, the commissioners, PCS and CC), the time sensitive nature of a USC pathway, introducing a new process and setting up an imaging hub as well as clinical protocols, we are excited to be improving patient healthcare outcomes across Sheffield.’ – Henry Maas, Head of New Initiatives at Consultant Connect.
WINNER for Innovation – Ophthalmology:
Hywel Dda University Health Board
This year’s winner for the ‘Innovation – Ophthalmology’ Award is Hywel Dda University Board (HD). After ophthalmology legislative changes in 2023, HD needed a platform to facilitate referral refinement and monitoring to reduce historical hospital demand and ensure they met the data set requirement outlined. They utilised Consultant Connect’s bespoke coded proformas to launch the WGOS4 Glaucoma Onward Referral Pathway for filtering, streamlining existing avenues and enhancing patient care. 44 messages have been sent since the service launch in September 2024, and work is currently underway to launch WGOS4 Medical Retina filtering pathways via Consultant Connect.
‘The Team in HD has been successfully using Consultant Connect messaging to connect optomoterists and the Ophthalmology Team for a number of years. It is a privilage to continue working directly with them to navigate the new legislative changes in Wales.’ – Bronwen Dunning, Account Manager at Consultant Connect.
WINNER for Innovation – Elective Recovery Fund:
South East London ICB
A new addition to this year’s award categories, we are pleased to announce South East London ICB (SEL) as the winner of the ‘Innovation – Elective Recovery Fund’ (ERF) Award. After the latest ERF technical guidance earlier this year highlighting that funding is available for seeing more outpatients and diverting “new” patients from hospitals through A&G, SEL has recognised the clear role A&G plays in recovery and, therefore, the importance of outcomes when unlocking ERF income. The team has expanded ERF’s potential by utilising the retrospective outcome functionality via Consultant Connect, to ensure maximum funds are realised.
‘It’s been a joy to work with SEL this year as we look to maximise the value from the A&G they are providing. Their innovation in utilising the Elective Recovery Fund will help with both the resourcing of healthcare provision and improve the whole patient care journey itself.’ – Nick Smith, Account Manager at Consultant Connect.
WINNER for Referral Triage:
Kettering General Hospital
We are delighted to announce Kettering General Hospital as the winner of this year’s ‘Referral Triage’ Award following the news that their Neurology Referral Triage project resulted in more than 50% of patients being removed from the waiting list. These patients were instead referred to an alternative pathway or returned to their GP with comprehensive treatment plans. The remaining cohort of patients was accepted for a routine appointment or fast-tracked if they needed an urgent pathway. The success of the project led to it being permanently rolled out at the hospital, ensuring patients get the treatment and care they need instead of the stress and uncertainty that comes with waiting for an appointment.
‘This referral triage project has been an absolute pleasure to work on. Sibel Bryant from KGH is a credit to the Trust. She cares deeply about the success of the project whilst ensuring that all stakeholder views are balanced. Our triaging consultant, Dr Nick Silver, is also one of the most driven individuals I’ve ever met; striving for continuous improvement and challenging the status quo when relevant in order to make things more efficient for KGH. Together, this has allowed us to tailor the service that we offer to KGH to ensure that we are no longer viewed as “an outsourced solution” and more as part of their internal team. We are excited to see how the current triaging model evolves in 2025.’ – Grace Jackson, Referral Triage & Governance Lead at Consultant Connect.
Please note that all outcome data relates to calls and/or photo messages where an outcome was reported and is correct as of December 2024
Contact us for more information:
If you have any questions, or would like more information about our projects, call us on 01865 261 467 or email hello@consultantconnect.org.uk.
