Clinical Support Service Award

Without efficient and effective clinical support services, the care pathway cannot function. These crucial services aid clinicians in diagnosis; improve patients’ response to treatment and their recovery and rehabilitation; support patients’ families; and maintain patient and staff safety. They cover a huge range of needs, including bereavement and chaplaincy, dietetics, infection prevention and control, occupational health, and physiotherapy.

As demand for these services grows, and new techniques and technology expand their capabilities, it is crucial to ensure they are provided in an efficient and cost-effective a manner as possible, while maintaining quality and safety.

This award is open to any business providing products or services that have demonstrably improved efficiency, quality, patient outcomes and value through innovation.

Judges are looking for an NHS partner who has completed a joint working project or is supplying products or services on an ongoing basis.

Eligibility

• Projects, products or services which can be supported by recent evidence from the past 2 years up until the awards deadline date
• Private business working in partnership with NHS providers, commissioners or integrated care
• Either single joint working project, partnership, product or service supply

CRITERIA
 

Ambition

Outline the context in which the project was initiated. Describe the brief and what solutions were sought? Is this a single project partnership or an ongoing relationship to deliver services? Describe the goals of the partnership or relationship in terms of financial, patient outcomes, value, efficiency, capacity or workforce. What were the metrics of success?

Outcomes

How were the results achieved and what were they? Please supply evidence which supports any claims of success with testimonials, facts and figures. Testimonials are of real use to judges especially from front line staff directly effected by the work done and if relevant, patients.

Other measures of success judges will also take into consideration are on-time-delivery, value for money, high quality service and communication and tangible improvements in efficiency, savings and outcomes.

Spread

Judges are looking for evidence of dissemination of best practice. How have the team involved whether from the NHS or the service provider spread their success to other customers, institutions or departments. Judges will be looking for evidence of take up with supporting testimonials and quantitative information.

Involvement

Stakeholder buy-in is obviously key to the success of any partnership or change in process or approach. What steps were taken to work with clinicians to get their input into project design, targets and continued success. Were any other groups involved such as patients, procurement teams, leadership or third parties such as local authorities, charities or suppliers?

Value 

Within the range of services that can be considered clinical support value will have varied metrics, however judges will be looking for projects and partnerships which have been able to demonstrate non-monetary improvements. For example, have the outcomes included saving time, improved efficiencies, patient experience and well-being, increased capacity, support for families, safety improvements and length of stay. All such qualitative value success should be supported by testimonial evidence from end users and any relevant quantitative verification.