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Acorn Awards 2009

Introduction

Entries are invited for the 2009 NHS Alliance Acorn Awards.

Entry

Entries for the 2009 Acorn Awards are now open. Please click here to enter.

Entries should be no more than four sides of A4, and refer to achievement in the chosen category for the period 1st April 2008 to 1st April 2009. Entries should be sent electronically and reach the Alliance office no later than 31st July 2009.

Awards

Service Redesign /Improvement

Judges: Claire Old; Andy Donald
Description: 1. Portfolio Does the PCT have a comprehensive portfolio of re-design activity, eg: • Schemes or projects that have been in place for at least nine of the last twelve months • New and recent schemes • How obstacles have been overcome in developing the schemes, and what those obstacles were 2. Impact The judges will look for evidence of the impact of the projects, eg: • How the scheme fulfils the needs of patients • The number of patients who have experienced it to date • The numbers who are anticipated to benefit annually • The effect of the scheme on hospital admissions and • How the scheme impacts on local financial and human resources • How the scheme fulfils the priorities of local primary care clinicians 3. Innovation and good practice This award will give equal weight to innovation and to building on good practice developed elsewhere. The PCT should demonstrate • To what extent the scheme is innovative • To what extent it builds on good practice developed elsewhere 4. Planning for the future The PCT will need to provide evidence of: • Its plans for roll out and replication of the scheme • The sustainability of the scheme.

Clinical Engagement

Judges: Dinah Roy; Stewart Findlay
Description: Entries should demonstrate that: • A clinical team has been empowered to lead service change within or across an organisation and can demonstrate team working. • Clear improvement in direct or indirect patient outcomes has been achieved. • The service change is directed at increasing efficiency or clinical effectiveness. • There is a strategy to ensure that the change survives beyond those who implement it.

Public & Patient Involvement

Judges: Graham Box; Brian Fisher; Danny Daniels
Description: The judges will be looking for evidence of the following: 1. Structural • There is a PPI strategy in all directorates of PBC • Board attention is given regularly to PPI 2. Listening • That PBC uses an innovative approach to gathering local intelligence OR • That PBC uses a variety of means of gathering local intelligence. AND • This intelligence is presented to decision makers such as the Board, PEC 3. Action • This intelligence is acted upon • Demonstrable changes have resulted • These changes are at both Acute Trust and community levels • Robust evaluation is employed

Public Health

Judges: Chris Drinkwater; Nicola Close
Description: Improving local health in partnership with local authorities This award is looking for good examples of how Directors of Public Health are responding to the challenge of working in partnership with local authorities, and the wider public health workforce. Applicants should focus on a local public health priority and should clearly demonstrate how this has been addressed in partnership with the local authority. They should also demonstrate how the wider health, local authority and voluntary sector workforce has been engaged in delivering this priority and how the public health message has been marketed to the local community. Working in partnership The judges will look for the following: 1. Evidence of a local needs assessment, preferably as part of a Joint Strategic Needs Assessment Portfolio, and of clearly identified priorities 2. Evidence of how one of the identified priorities is being addressed through strategic plans and other approaches 3. Evidence that a plausible processes has been put in place and that outputs and clear intermediate and long-term outcomes have been agreed 4. Evidence that the chosen priority contributes to the Local Area Agreement Outcomes

Integrated and Complementary Healthcare

Judges: Carol Horner; Mike O'Farrell
Description: 1. Information and planning The judges will consider how information about complementary therapies is accessed and shared, and how that informs the planning process, eg: • What information does the PCT hold or can access about the evidence for named therapies such as osteopathy, acupuncture, aromatherapy, chiropractic, hypnotherapy, osteopathy and others? • What information does the PCT hold or can access about: - local complementary practitioners? - the provision of (or referrals for) complementary therapies by local clinicians to their patients? • How is this information shared: - With PCT staff involved in planning or delivering services? - With PEC members and clinical leads? - With local clinicians? • What information is provided to the local population and how is it distributed? • Does the PCT have an action plan for the provision of one or more therapies, taking into account issues such as access and evidence? 2. Provision and access • Has the PCT provided access with clear guidelines for at least two therapies? • Is access provided to all patients within the PCT for at least one therapy? • Does the PCT fund 100% of the costs of complementary therapies or does it ask for a contribution from the patient? 3. Evaluation • How can the PCT demonstrate that its provision of complementary therapies meets patient needs and is cost effective? • Has the PCT undertaken any research into the efficacy, safety or cost of a complementary health project?

Clinical Governance

Judges: Dennis Cox; Ruth Chambers
Description: The judges will be looking for specific evidence of some or all of the following: Structural • The trust or practice will have a clinical governance strategy with an operational plan that has been evolved by PCT or practice management with overt staff and patient input. • There is effective leadership in relation to clinical governance at all levels in the trust / practice. • There is an effective system for communicating learning lessons to the trust or practice; in relation to which changes have been made. • There is a seamless link between appraisal, HR policies and practices, education and training (such as mandatory training), clinical effectiveness and other components of clinical governance. Impact • There are concrete and visible changes of behaviour resulting from clinical governance related work programmes, that have led to improvements to patient care and / or effective working. • Effective teamworking has been a driver in there being positive changes or continual improvement in the way that services are delivered. • The application of clinical governance has led to consistently good practice in primary care, across healthcare settings e.g. more than one independent contractor setting, or between general medical practice and school health etc. Innovation and good practice • The trust or practice has involved dentists, pharmacists and / or optometrists in implementing clinical governance along with general medical practitioners. • The trust or practice has evaluated their innovative developments to check that risks to patient safety are minimised and patient centred care is enhanced. • Innovative developments that generate affordable patient benefits are sustained.

Responsiveness in General Practice

Judges: Wendy Evans; Mike Warburton
Description: For this award, judges will be looking for practices which have been truly responsive to patients non-clinical needs. In particular; - examples of how practices have embedded a systematic process for hearing patients needs and acting upon them – of responsiveness becoming part of their practice culture, and - individual examples of how a practice has been truly responsive to the particular needs of patients. The examples should be about the non-clinical aspects of patient care. Practices should consider the following headings when submitting their entry; An embedded approach to responsiveness: • How has the practice set/established high levels of responsiveness and customer care? Eg. Built into practice plans, setting practice targets, employing customer focused reception staff, communications to patients • How has the practice involved the whole practice team in agreeing these standards? E.g. Leadership from partners, consulting with the practice team, team meeting focus, training and development opportunities Working with patients: • What methods has the practice employed to proactively seek patient views? How is this built into everyday processes of the practice? We will be looking for evidence of a proactive approach, where the practice has found a way to reach patients and understand their views • Can the practice demonstrate that they have used different patient feedback mechanisms to target different types of patients, eg texting for younger patients • How has the practice communicated with its patients about how to get the best from their practice visit, and to let them know of any changes? Taking action • Can the practice demonstrate how they have acted upon feedback from patients? • How did they agree, as a team, whether a change should be made? • How did they involve patients in implementing the changes? • How did they check that the change had been successful – both for the practice, and patients? Responsiveness to particular patient needs: The judges would welcome entries from practices which have identified a particular patient need and have made changes to improve. Areas of improvement may include the following; • Managing demand Telephony Use of IT Customer service training and initiatives Waiting room enhancements Responding to disability issues Responding to BME issues Patient engagement and communication • Case studies should describe; o how the need was identified, o how solutions were found, o details of implementation including role of the practice team, consultation with patients and how any challenges were overcome, o how the change was evaluated and what was achieved

Practice Based Commissioning

Judges: David Jenner; Shane Gordon
Description: Project that best displays the following attributes: Joint working between PCT and local practices. Addresses the key issue of achieving financial balance. Defines credible and tangible incentives for practices. Genuinely moves care from hospitals to the community Involves local patients in any service redesign proposals That demonstrates fulfilment of the World Class Commissioning standards for effective commissioning

Pharmaceutical Services Commissioning

Judges: Sue Sharp; Shailen Rao; Ronan Brett; Georgina Craig
Description: This NEW award is designed to showcase PCTs who are excelling at world class commissioning of pharmaceutical services. The judging criteria for this award are closely aligned with world class commissioning competencies. The judges are especially looking for evidence of: • Collaborative PCT leadership in relation to pharmaceutical service needs assessment, strategy development and market stimulation; • Joined up thinking and integration of pharmaceutical service commissioning with wider PCT planning and commissioning processes; • Innovative service commissioning and delivery; • Facilitation of joined up working between GPs and pharmaceutical service providers to improve safety and quality of care. PCTs are asked to provide evidence of their work on pharmaceutical services commissioning to illustrate their achievements and progress in relation to the following questions: • How did you / are you approaching your PNA to ensure it is joined up with wider PCT/local authority needs assessment processes? How are you engaging stakeholders (including the public) with the PNA process? • How have you mapped current and potential future providers of pharmaceutical services? How are you engaging them in the commissioning process? • How have you encouraged collaboration between GPs and pharmaceutical service providers; what has been the impact in quality and safety of care for patients? • What do local service providers say about you as a commissioning partner?

Considerations

Entries Cannot be accepted unless accompanied by a completed entry form

Entry forms from Kaye Locke, office@nhsalliance.org or download from here.

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