A 'Virtual Waiting Room' pilot won the Driving Efficiency Through Technology award, for demonstrating “demonstrable efficiency, performance and patient benefits”.
The pilot looked at an alternative pathway for patients directed to emergency departments via NHS 111.
Following initial NHS 111 assessment by partners at HUC, the NHS 111 provider for Cambridgeshire and Peterborough, patients may be 'admitted' to the Virtual Waiting Room for a video consultation with a specialised clinician or emergency department healthcare professional.
CUH’s David Monk, Vaz Ahmed, and colleagues in the emergency department team worked closely with HUC and other partners in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough to plan and deliver the pilot.
David, who is operations manager for urgent and unscheduled care, said: "This is an example of partnership working using technology to make improvements to patients and how we deliver urgent and emergency care."
HUC chief operating officer Janice Greenhill added: “To be shortlisted was an honour, however, to now be recognised as leaders in healthcare innovation for our work only drives us to continue to move forward with innovating further to help the patients we serve.”
In a second success, an innovative package of measures to reduce carbon emissions at CUH was shortlisted in the HSJ Awards for Environmental Sustainability.
Installing air-conditioning systems which ‘choose’ the greenest type of energy available, rolling out low-energy light bulbs, multidisciplinary working to reduce anaesthetic gas use, initiatives to reduce single use plastics along with continuing to encourage those coming to the campus to cycle, walk or bus to work are only some of the activities which led to the entry being shortlisted.
Energy and sustainability manager, Dr Richard Hales, said: "This is a wonderful boost for all the teams who are striving to reduce our carbon footprint. It’s not easy, but this recognition will spur us on to find new ways of treading more lightly on the planet."
Director of estates, and executive lead for sustainability Carin Charlton, added: "We know we face a climate emergency, and it is down to each one of us to take urgent steps to reduce our consumption. At CUH our green plan will take us further towards a circular economy that minimises energy usage and waste; raising awareness of the role we all have to play in making CUH a responsible consumer [through the HSJ Awards] will supercharge our efforts."
Some of the measures outlined in the shortlisted entry included:
‘Net zero carbon enabled plans’ for two new hospitals - Cambridge Children’s Hospital and Cambridge Cancer Research Hospital - which align with NHS Net Zero Carbon targets
Rooftop solar panel arrays and battery storage for solar energy
Air-source and ground-source heat pumps to warm and cool buildings
Innovative technology to ‘choose’ between solar/battery/mains electricity – whichever is most sustainable at that moment
Low emissions vehicle available for work use
Reducing single use plastics
Building on our ‘think green impact’ staff behaviour programme
Reducing use of some general anaesthetic gases in favour of others
Reducing reliance on metered dose inhalers
Reducing carbon footprint to offer patients remote and virtual clinics where clinically appropriate.