Local winners at the BMJ Awards

Two local teams were winners at the 2018 BMJ Awards on 10 May. North Bristol NHS Trust and the West of England Academic Health Science Network both came away with coveted awards at the glittering ceremony held in London.

The Purple Butterfly Project provides end-of-life care at North Bristol Trust’s Southmead Hospital, and they won the Palliative and Hospice Team of the Year Award. The judges were impressed by the range and diversity of improvements incorporated in the
Purple Butterfly Project to improve the quality and consistency of care of patients and their families at the end of
life. The buy in from the clinical, pharmacy, phlebotomy, catering, and porter teams in a large acute hospital and
the engagement at board and ward level stood out.

The West of England Academic Health Science Network scooped the Patient Safety Team of the Year for their systematic attempt to improve the recognition
of sepsis by universally using the Royal College of Physicians’ national early warning score (NEWS). The judges were impressed by this passionate, committed and cohesive team. Their
approach to system-wide engagement, involving GPs, nurses in the community, and pre-hospital services was considered outstanding. They achieved a measurable impact of reduction in mortality. They have a commitment to spreading
learning across other regions, and have a clear vision of how they will take the work forward.

Other Bristol teams that were shortlisted for this year’s awards were the High Impact User Team for the Mental Health Team of the Year, and the Paediatric Resuscitation QI Team in the Patient Safety Team of the Year, both at University Hospitals Bristol NHS Foundation Trust.