Publish date: 9 July 2025
Three projects at Blackpool Teaching Hospitals have been shortlisted at the annual HSJ Patient Safety awards 2025.
Read more about the awards and projects below...
Deteriorating patients and rapid response initiative of the year award
Colleague and patient involvement has been the backbone of this initiative named, ‘Simple Changes, System Impact: Trust-wide fluid balance reform that’s built to last’.
The project, which was led by the Trust’s Critical Care Outreach team (CCOS), aimed to transformed fluid balance monitoring from a routine task into a smarter and better targeted way of assessing a patient’s fluid status. Fluid balance and hydration monitoring is a vital early indicator of patient deterioration.
The project team included patient feedback to help colleagues recognise the personal impact of these ‘routine’ decisions.
Rob Instrell, Clinical Lead for Critical Care Outreach and Resuscitation services commented: “Making this project a co-produced transformation is what made this project the success it was. I’d like to thank all the teams who drove this project as part of the early stages and continue to ensure there is a cultural shift across the Trust.”
Developing a positive safety culture award
The Improving the Fundamentals of Care programme was launched at Blackpool Teaching Hospitals in July 2023 to reduce harm, improve patient safety, and create a culture of continuous improvement.
The programme involves teams from across the Trust, from wards to community settings. Teams taking part in the programme have introduced projects to improve patient safety, reduce harms, and enhance patient experience by targeting issues like falls, pressure ulcers, hospital-acquired infections, and pain management.
Alex Rose, Quality Improvement Programme Manager, commented: “This programme has provided teams with the skills and knowledge necessary to implement and sustain improvements in patient care. Being shortlisted for this award acknowledges the efforts and achievements of all involved.”
Patient involvement in patient safety award
When tasked with rolling out a national initiative, Martha’s Rule, a team at Blackpool focused on local influences to design, implement and embed the change across the Trust.
Martha’s Rule, or you may have also heard it referred to as ‘Call for Concern’ is not just a policy, it’s a patient-led transformation across the NHS.
Described as true co-production, the Trust team involved patients and their families who had raised concerns in the past.
Lisa Horkin, Associate Director of Nursing, commented: “Prior to Martha’s Rule the Trust already had an escalation process in place however rolling out this initiative has enabled us to improve not just our response to calls for concern but also trying to prevent the need for it.
“A big thank you and well done to all the patients, relatives, and colleagues who have helped get the initiative to this stage, we know there is a lot of work still to be done but being named as a finalist in the HSJ Awards is testament to the efforts seen so far.”
