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The award was won in partnership with Oxford AHSN, Oxford University Hospitals FT, Royal Berkshire FT and Health Education England e-Learning.

Patient Safety Awards 2020. Winners. Patient Safety Innovation of the Year

OxSTaR is delighted to announce that in partnership with Oxford AHSN, Oxford University Hospitals FT, Royal Berkshire FT and Health Education England e-Learning we have won the Patient Safety Innovation of the Year Award at this year’s HSJ Patient Safety Awards. This recognises our outstanding contribution to using innovative technology to enhance healthcare education. Following an intensive judging process, this partnership was handed the prestigious accolade ahead of a highly competitive shortlist. The project was also highly commended in the Patient Safety Education and Training category.

Over 1000 guests tuned in to the Patient Safety Awards this year, which took a virtual format on Tuesday 10th November 2020, to celebrate the very best achievements and innovations driving the national patient safety agenda.

The project, Using ‘real fetal heart sounds’ an innovative solution to teaching and assessing competency in intermittent auscultation: improving safety for low risk mothers and babies in labour, was recognised for their ambition, visionary spirit and the demonstrable positive impact that the partnership's project has had on patient and staff experiences within the health and social care sector. 

The project

Two consultant midwives in Oxford and Royal Berkshire Hospitals who teach an ‘intelligent’ approach to intermittent auscultation based on physiology (understanding a baby’s response to stress in labour) were astonished at the variation in midwifery practice of intermittent auscultation.

In 2017 integration of ‘real’ fetal heart sounds in their teaching enabled assessment of accuracy and competency of intermittent auscultation. This innovative approach has enabled midwives and student midwives to listen ‘intelligently’ to identify those babies at risk of deterioration in labour for whom rapid escalation of care is critical to improve safety. Goals of this project were to convert the teaching programme into an e-learning package enabling national dissemination and inclusion in mandatory training timetables, and to ensure equity and improve safety for mothers and babies.

Judges' comments

The judges said the following about the project:

"The judges felt that this winning innovation has the potential to positively impact a significant number of individuals across the country, with clear benefits to both staff and patient outcomes. It is already starting to become best practice and is clearly outstanding work that has already been well received by users and associated stakeholders. The project leads demonstrated a thirst for expansion and wider sharing of the benefits of the project."

 

To read more about the awards, please use the link below:

https://awards.patientsafetycongress.co.uk/