Northamptonshire NHS scheme shortlisted for national award

The yellow bracelet scheme has been selected as a finalist in the Improving Care for Older People category at this year’s Health Service Journal (HSJ) Patient Safety Awards.

Developed by NHS Northamptonshire Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) through Northamptonshire Health and Care Partnership, the scheme sees patients given a yellow bracelet with a QR code, which can be scanned using any registered device with a camera.

This gives clinicians and healthcare professionals instant access to data about the patient’s domiciliary care package, their personal needs and the support they have available at home – thereby improving their care and helping reduce unnecessary hospital admissions.

The scheme has been shortlisted despite tough competition from across the country.

Toby Sanders, the CCG’s Chief Executive said: “We are delighted to have been shortlisted for this award. It’s welcome recognition of the collaborative efforts and dedication of our staff over the last 12 months in successfully implementing the yellow bracelet scheme.

“Along with our partners, we are committed to delivering improved outcomes for our patients and the scheme is a great example of the joint work we are doing to achieve this. To be selected among the other outstanding nominees is a wonderful achievement.”

There are around 4,600 patients across Northamptonshire – many of them elderly – who rely on domiciliary packages of care. Data shows a third of these patients end up being admitted to hospital – many needlessly – and the yellow bracelet scheme is helping to address this.

Developed with technology from Sundown Solutions, the scheme is the brainchild of Gabriella O’Keeffe, Head of Quality Improvement for Northamptonshire CCG.

The data the scheme provides is also made available to GPs and social care providers to support more joined-up care and better outcomes for patients across Northamptonshire.

The annual HSJ Patient Safety Awards help drive improvements in culture and quality across the NHS by celebrating the teams and the people putting safety first.

Winners will be selected ahead of the ceremony, which will take place virtually as part of the Patient Safety Virtual Congress and Awards in November 2020.

The full list of nominees for the 2020 HSJ Patient Safety Awards can be found at https://awards.patientsafetycongress.co.uk/2020-shortlist