HSJ Patient Safety Awards 2017: Quality Lead of the Year

Consultant anesthetist at the Royal Surrey County Hospital Nial Quiney says: “Having worked in the NHS for over 25 years it struck me, about 10 years ago that the mortality for emergency bowel surgery, was extremely high.

Higher than any mortality from any other surgery, including cardiac. In my own hospital, the rate was 22 per cent.

This, to me, was unacceptable. I set about improving the care and reducing this high rate by using an evidence based care bundle and implemented it in four hospitals. Our team reduced the risk adjusted mortality overall by 42 per cent and the crude mortality by 25 per cent.”

The judges said this is an ambitious programme delivering impressive reductions in mortality across a large number of hospitals by effective collaborative working, modern approaches and leadership.

Read the full story of the initiative at HSJ Solutions here.

Highly commended was The Robert Jones and Agnes Hunt Orthopaedic Hospital.