WINNER

Oxleas FT

Utilising quality improvement methodology to reduce Did Not Attends in healthcare within a UK prison

East Sutton Park prison has achieved a dramatic reduction in missed healthcare appointments through a quality improvement initiative.

The women’s open prison previously faced a high “did not attend” (DNA) rate of 21 per cent per week in 2022. By working collaboratively with the prison and applying the Model for Improvement methodology, the team achieved an 86 per cent decrease in DNAs, reducing the rate to just 3 per cent per week.

This improvement has delivered significant benefits, including less clinical time wasted and cost savings. Importantly, the lower DNA rate has been sustained for more than 18 months without any increase in patient complaints.

Read a detailed case study about this project at HSJ Solutions.

Highly commended

Central and North West London FT: Home first – Transforming discharge destinations for patients with cognitive impairment following a period of intermediate care

Finalists

Alder Hey Children’s Hospital: Improving Medication Safety in Paediatrics - Medication Safety Team

Coventry and Warwickshire Partnership Trust: Improving Flow at Coventry and Warwickshire Partnership Trust

Gateshead FT: Speech and Language Therapy Parkinson’s Rapid Response - 2-year pilot project

Great Ormond Street Hospital FT: “PRECIOUS-START” (Patient Record Enhancement for Comprehensive and Uniform Information Sharing by Streamlining Technology in Admission Record Transformation)

Homerton Hospital Emergency Department: Acute asthma in the Emergency Department

Norfolk and Norwich University Hospitals FT: Developing a vascular ward-based post-discharge complex wound review clinic

The Royal Marsden Hospital - Acute Oncology Service: Developing a Nurse-Led digital proctoscopy service in patients with suspected irAE-colitis in cancer care

 

Topics

HSJ Patient Safety Awards 2025: Winners revealed