Service project team regional winners in NHS Parliamentary Awards

A team from Lincolnshire Community Health Services NHS Trust (LCHS) has been announced as regional winners in the national Parliamentary Awards.

The NHS Parliamentary Awards were created to celebrate NHS staff, carers and volunteers for their hard work, innovative ideas and unwavering efforts to put patients first.

The Urgent Care Streaming service and Clinical Assessment Service team is down to the final seven in their category, The Excellence in Urgent and Emergency Care Award for their work on the Urgent Care Streaming service.

The team is made up of staff from across Lincolnshire who have specialist roles in urgent care, such as Advanced Nurse Practitioners, GPs, Practitioners and Health Care Support Workers.

This service allows patients requiring urgent care to be assessed and advises on the most appropriate care for that patient, thus reducing the number of people needing to attend A&E and helping to decrease waiting times for those patients that do need to be seen at A&E.

The Urgent Care Streaming team was nominated by Natalie McKee, Head of Clinical Services for Urgent Care at LCHS.

Natalie said: “The team’s dedication and work is exemplary, the results speak for themselves: with an average of 25 per cent of patients directed away from A&E. This project has multiple benefits not only for patients as they are seen more quickly, but in reducing demand on the ambulance service; A&E and GPs by assuring patients have access to the right care at the right place.”

“The team thoroughly deserve to be finalists and we are so proud of them.”

On behalf of the team Sarah Lockwood, Senior Project Manager at LCHS added: “We are honoured and excited to have reached the final stages of the NHS Parliamentary Awards.

“We are all committed to our roles in making improvements in the NHS in Lincolnshire and enjoy working with fellow NHS partners to ensure collaboration in our processes for the benefit of our patients.”

Karen Lee, MP for Lincoln said: “I am really pleased that staff at Lincolnshire Community Health Services NHS Trust have been recognised for their excellent urgent and emergency care service.

“With the pressures on the NHS mounting, it is crucial that services take LCHS’s lead and deliver efficient streaming services to prevent overworking A&E.

“It’s great to see that this has been achieved in light of the difficulties of delivering health care to a rural county.”

Representatives from the team will be joined by Karen Lee, MP at the awards ceremony on Wednesday, 10 July in Parliament.