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:
- Special Achievement
- Best Overall Projects – click here to find out the winners
Read on to find out the Special Achievement winners, or click below to quickly navigate:
- Pathway-Specific:
- Urgent Care:
- Social Value
- Project Advocate
Special Achievement 2024
And the winners are…
WINNER for Pathway-Specific:
Suspected Head & Neck Cancer messaging at University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
After they were highly commended for the ‘Innovation’ Award in 2023, we’re delighted to announce University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (UCLH) as this year’s winner of the ‘Pathway-Specific’ Award for their Suspected Head & Neck Cancer messaging service. A year on from the launch of the messaging service, the project continues to streamline and enhance care for patients with suspected head and neck cancer, whilst saving referring clinicians time and minimising unnecessary referrals. Since its launch, the service has received 103 messages, with 46% resulting in the patient being referred on an urgent suspected cancer (USC) pathway, ensuring they receive appropriate and timely care.
‘The Suspected Head and Neck Cancer initiative at UCLH continues to go from strength to strength. It has been great to see extremely positive feedback from patients who’ve benefitted from the pathway, as well as the specialist nurses using the platform.’ – Nick Smith, Account Manager at Consultant Connect.
HIGHLY COMMENDED for Pathway-Specific:
Paediatrics 2WW Pathway at University Hospitals of Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Trust
This year, we recognise the University Hospitals of Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Trust (UHCW) for their Paediatrics 2WW Pathway. The service was launched within two weeks in 2021, and comprises a telephone and messaging line used concurrently, allowing clinicians in primary care to call specialists and then follow up with a message, attaching clinical images, reports and/or documents if an urgent referral is advised. The pathway bypasses the hospital switchboard and has dramatically sped up cancer diagnoses for children and young people, fast-tracking patients with concerning symptoms for specialist treatment. In the last 12 months, the telephone line has received 236 calls, answered within 19 seconds, and 109 follow-up referral messages. 41% of calls resulted in the patient avoiding an unnecessary Urgent Suspected Cancer (USC) referral, allowing them to be cared for within the community and alleviating any anxiety.
‘By streamlining the suspected childhood cancer pathway with communication technology, we are enabling faster diagnoses and earlier interventions, ultimately ensuring children receive the clinical care they need without delay. For cases where a cancer referral is needed, as a result of rapid clinical conversation, there is a benefit of reduced anxiety for families. It’s a prime example of how our technological innovation in healthcare can make a real difference to both patients and clinicians alike.’ – Marija Tofts, Account Manager & New Solutions Implementation Lead at Consultant Connect.
WINNER for Urgent Care:
NHS Tayside
As this year’s winner of the ‘Urgent Care’ Award, we congratulate NHS Tayside. The implementation of Consultant Connect tech has helped NHS Tayside achieve the lowest ambulance conveyance rate in Scotland, resulting in 15 fewer patients being admitted to hospitals per day compared with the average for Scotland. Not only has this eased pressure on busy emergency departments, but it has also led to improved patient care whilst generating cost savings of more than £700,000 per year. In the last 12 months, 60,000 calls have been made to an acute specialty via Consultant Connect, within 16 seconds on average, resulting in 48% of patients avoiding a trip to hospital.
‘The Tayside model of connecting primary care clinicians, resident doctors and paramedics with senior decision-makers has proven to be an extremely effective way of making sure that patients get the right care in the right place at the right time. The Tayside team is an absolute pleasure to work with and are always keen to share their learnings with other health boards in order to improve patient care across Scotland.’ – Stephen Lamb, Customer Success Manager at Consultant Connect.
WINNER for Social Value:
Myanmar project
By helping to improve diagnoses of a wide range of skin conditions in a war-torn country, we are proud to announce the Myanmar project as the winner of the ‘Social Value’ Award for 2024. The project, which launched in 2023, stems gaps in the country’s healthcare system by connecting healthcare workers and NGOs with NHS dermatologists for second opinions on difficult to diagnose cases. Using Consultant Connect technology, users can securely send patient photos and notes enabling the provision of rapid treatment plans and supporting the best patient care.
‘We’re very proud to partner with the Burma Skincare Initiative (BSI). Years of conflict and an under-resourced health system in Myanmar means that accessing healthcare can be very difficult. BSI works tirelessly with colleagues in Myanmar to strengthen and improve dermatological care nationally, and we congratulate them on this very deserved award.’ – Patrick Keys, Account Manager at Consultant Connect.
HIGHLY COMMENDED for Social Value:
Lebanon project
This year, we recognise the Lebanon project for the ‘Social Value’ Award, for transforming healthcare for refugees and internally displaced people with severe skin conditions. Lebanon has one of the highest refugee and internally displaced people populations due to conflicts. Using Consultant Connect, clinicians can share images and messages with dermatology experts, helping on-the-ground healthcare workers get rapid advice for complex conditions, leading to faster diagnoses and better treatment plans for patients.
‘The economic crisis and conflicts both within Lebanon and its neighbouring countries have severely impacted healthcare in the country. Bridges2Health&Rights and the International League of Dermatological Societies are doing fantastic work improving access to care and protection and training healthcare workers on the ground to better cater to the needs of local populations.’ – Patrick Keys, Account Manager at Consultant Connect.
WINNER for Photo Messaging:
University Hospitals of Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Trust
We are delighted to announce the University Hospitals of Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Trust as this year’s winner of the ‘Photo Messaging’ Award for utilising photo messaging pathways via Consultant Connect to support with Cardiology and Dermatology. Both specialties are very popular and receive high praise from users within primary care in Coventry & Rugby and Warwickshire North, with 1,985 and 4,507 messages received in the last 12 months for Cardiology and Dermatology respectively. Both teams have embedded Consultant Connect tech at pace, and work well in high volumes and quickly, with Cardiology messages answered within 7 hours and Dermatology messages answered within two working days, on average. As well as ensuring healthcare professionals have access to quick advice, the lines also support the best patient care, with 86% and 64% of Cardiology and Dermatology messages, respectively, resulting in the patient avoiding a hospital visit.
‘It’s been a pleasure working with the Cardiology and Dermatology teams at UHCW. Their efficient use of Consultant Connect’s photo messaging technology has enabled rapid expert advice, improved patient outcomes, and reduced unnecessary hospital visits, all while managing high message volumes seamlessly. This is a true example of how Consultant Connect technology is transforming patient care in the NHS.’ – Harriet Leslie, Account Executive at Consultant Connect.
WINNER for e-RS Connect:
Haematology at South Warwickshire University NHS Foundation Trust
We are excited to announce the Haematology Team at South Warwickshire University NHS Foundation Trust as the winner of the ‘e-RS Connect’ Award. As the first Consultant Connect specialty team to respond to all requests for e-RS Advice & Guidance (A&G) via our new e-RS Connect interface, the team have embraced the switch and benefit from:
- immediate reporting functionality to assist with job planning,
- bespoke data capture for local use,
- faster software,
- and an easier to navigate and more appealing interface.
‘The UHCW Haematology Team has enthusiastically embraced the new technology available to speed up the A&G reply process while saving valuable clinical time that can be used to improve patient care. They are very deserving of this award, congratulations!’ – Marija Tofts, Account Manager & New Solutions Implementation Lead at Consultant Connect.
WINNER for PhotoSAF:
Leeds Cancer Programme
We are delighted to announce the Leeds Cancer Programme as the winner of this year’s ‘PhotoSAF’ Award. Launched in 2018, the Consultant Connect teledermatology project, part of the Leeds Cancer programme, provides primary care clinicians with a secure platform to send images of suspicious lesions to dermatology consultants, resulting in speedier diagnosis, with many patients discharged without needing to attend hospital. Clinicians securely take images of their patient’s skin using the PhotoSAF feature within the Consultant Connect App to include on the e-RS 2WW referral pathway, allowing clinical assessment of the photographs. From April 2023 – April 2024, 85% of skin referrals received included images that were suitable to be clinically assessed using teledermatology. As a result:
- 39% of patients were discharged from the 2WW pathway and returned to their GP,
- 26% of patients were put on the direct-to-surgery pathway, meaning in place of their first 2WW appointment, they had their lesion assessed and biopsied,
- 18% of patients were accepted for a face-to-face appointment in a 2WW clinic,
- 5% of patients were removed from the 2WW cancer pathway and downgraded to a dermatology pathway,
- And 1% of patients were referred to a low-risk community BCC service.
‘The Consultant Connect project has been running in Leeds for a number of years, and it is great to see that the work the team do is still having such a positive impact on the community this far into a project.’ – David Marsh, Account Manager at Consultant Connect.
HIGHLY COMMENDED for PhotoSAF:
NHS Scotland
This year we recognise NHS Scotland for the ‘PhotoSAF’ Award as the digital image capture solution rolls out to Scotland’s 14 Health Boards. The service now enables clinicians in Scotland to take, store and share patient dermatology photos and files directly with specialists for advice and record-keeping purposes. The functionality allows a decision to be made on whether a face-to-face hospital appointment is necessary or if treatment can be provided and managed within primary care. This is helping to reduce waiting lists and improve patient care.
‘We’re delighted that working collaboratively with partners in Scotland has resulted in clinicians being able to take dermatology photos in an IG-secure and GDPR-compliant manner and easily attach the photos to referrals due to system integrations. Not only does this streamline the referral processes for clinicians, it also supports improved patient care as decisions on care are made based on photos. We’re looking forward to launching the service in the remaining health boards in early 2025.’ – Rae Workman, Group Customer Success Director at Consultant Connect.
WINNER for Project Advocate:
University Hospitals of North Midlands NHS Trust
We’re delighted to announce the University Hospitals of North Midlands NHS Trust (UHNM) as the winner of our new ‘Project Advocate’ Award. Following the launch of their Consultant Connect project in 2020, the proactive and hands-on involvement from senior stakeholders within UHNM has led to countless new lines and specialties added for local clinicians and hospitals to make the most of, including the latest addition: Acute Medical Unit (AMU) to the Tissue Viability messaging line, which has had a great uptake so far since its launch last month. We would like to make a special mention to UHNM’s Chief Clinical Information Officer Zia Din, without whom the drastic increase in countless new lines and specialties encouraging account growth would not have been possible. The team has worked tirelessly to ensure the project is a success and hopes to roll out within the community with a Rheumatology Midlands Partnership Foundation Trust (MPFT) line in early 2025, as we launch a Mental Health Pathway with North Staffs Combined Health Trust (NSCHT).
‘Since taking over the UHNM account in June this year, I have loved working on and pushing forward the vast live work streams. Zia and the team have been a dream to work with, with regular communication being a big help to keep momentum going across the account. The team are innovative and keen to try new products, such as e-RS Connect, and it’s been brilliant to see that even after their countless new lines and specialties added, usage remains as high as ever, as does the overall account connection rate at 87%.’ – Brogan Hunt, Account Manager at Consultant Connect.
Please note that all data relates to calls and/or photo messages where an outcome was reported, and data 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.
