WINNER

West Hertfordshire Teaching Hospitals Trust

Quest Prehab Digital Prehabilitation

West Hertfordshire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust has redesigned the colorectal cancer pathway by integrating digital prehabilitation, robotic‑assisted surgery, digital consent, and Virtual Hospital recovery into a single technology‑enabled model. Developed through multidisciplinary collaboration with QuestPrehab, the pathway strengthens safety, personalisation, and efficiency. Early results show 93 per cent acceptability, 96 per cent adherence, reduced anxiety, improved functional capacity, and measurable gains in fatigue and quality of life. Robotic surgery has cut complications by 33 per cent and reduced length of stay from 6.6 to 4.2 days, with over 25 per cent of patients discharged within 24 hours. The model is scalable, governance‑driven, and aligned with national digital priorities.

Read a detailed case study about this project at HSJ Best Practice.

Highly commended

Chelsea and Westminster Hospital FT and Hounslow Public Health: Impact of Patient-Centred Care and Population Health Management on Diabetes and Hypertension Outcomes

Finalists

Norfolk and Norwich University Hospitals FT: Interventional Radiology Local Anaesthetic (LA) Pre-Operative Assessment Pathway

NHS Supply Chain: A Value-Based Healthcare Approach to Surgical Mesh

Walsall Manor Hospital Trust: Day Case Lower Limb Arthroplasty – The Walsall Manor Pilot.

Royal Devon University Healthcare FT: Safety by Design – Plastics Surgery Trauma Unit (PSTU) and Plastics Exeter Hand Unit Theatre (PEHU)

Barts Health Trust: Transforming Surgical Safety Through Trust‑Wide Digital Consent

The Christie FT: Lived Experience in Action: Co-Designing Safer Surgical Pathways for Prostate Cancer

Calderdale and Huddersfield FT: From RESPOND to Recognition: Embedding Great Work Across Our Surgical Unit

Topics

HSJ Patient Safety Awards 2026: Winners revealed

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The winners of the HSJ Patient Safety Awards 2026 were announced last night, recognising outstanding efforts to make care safer.