Lincolnshire NHS recognised for improvements made for heart failure patients

The NHS in Lincolnshire is shortlisted for a prestigious Nursing Times Award for its collaborate work to redesign and improve healthcare for heart failure patients in the county.

Lincolnshire Community Health Services NHS Trust (LCHS), United Lincolnshire Hospitals NHS Trust (ULHT) and Lincolnshire Integrated Care Board (ICB) are jointly shortlisted for the HRH The Prince of Wales Award for Integrated Approaches to Care. The work also included significant contribution from primary care partners in the county.

Working collaboratively, the organisations have made a massive impact on the healthcare of heart failure patients across Lincolnshire.

The work included making improvements to the patient pathway which improved the service across the health and care system. Changes included opening a heart failure virtual ward and introducing a seven-day heart failure specialist service.

The work also included setting up a direct admission pathway for patients requiring hospitalisation, which meant that patients with the greatest need would be prioritised and seen much quicker as well as introducing additional specialist heart failure capacity in hospitals. 

Jo Checkley, Community Cardiology Clinical Lead at LCHS, said: “We worked in partnership with patients in Lincolnshire to develop these changes to ensure we understood their experiences and directly improved care for our patients in the way they wanted. Patients told us that they preferred to be treated closer to home and out of hospital, which is why we increased capacity through new virtual wards to be able to support patients to get the care they need whilst staying in their own homes.”

Martin Fahy, Director of Nursing at NHS Lincolnshire ICB, said: “This national recognition is testament to the hard work and dedication of everyone involved. This is a fantastic example of how, as a system, we have worked collaboratively to improve the outcomes for our patients.” 

Alun Roebuck, Senior Consultant Nurse in Cardiology at ULHT, said: “Thank you to everyone who was involved in this programme of work, I’m delighted that we have been recognised nationally at these prestigious awards. It’s a fantastic achievement to be shortlisted regardless of what happens on the night.”

The winners will be revealed at a ceremony in London later today.