Publish date: 19 June 2023
A mental health partnership provided by NHS organisations in Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire has been shortlisted for an award at this year’s HSJ Patient Safety Awards.
Known as the Integrated Access Partnership, the collaboration delivers mental and physical health via a wide range of organisations at the earliest point of patient contact. The partnership includes Avon and Wiltshire Mental Health Partnership NHS Trust, BrisDoc Healthcare Service, South Western Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust, Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire Integrated Care Board and the wider Integrated Care System as well as Avon and Somerset Police, Fire and voluntary, community and social enterprise (VCSE) organisations.
The HSJ Best Use of Integrated Care and Partnership Working in Patient Safety Award recognises hard-working teams and individuals across the UK who are continually striving to deliver improved patient care. The shortlisting follows the partnership’s success earlier this month when it received a regional Excellence in Mental Health Care Award, as part of the 2023 NHS Parliamentary Awards.
As a fully integrated service, the partnership combines mental health support into urgent and emergency care front door services across both 999 and 111 for people in mental health crisis. It provides the most appropriate response to people through the most appropriate professional, which can include: blue light emergency face-to-face response; remote face-to-face and telephone assessment; clinical review; professional advice and prescribing.
Through the service, people only need to tell their story once before accessing both mental and physical health services. This is particularly important for people living with multiple health conditions and supports reducing delays to receiving care.
A record-breaking 515 entries were received for the HSJ Patient Safety Awards 2023, with 209 organisations, projects and individuals making it to the final shortlist. The judging panel was made up of a diverse range of highly influential and respected figures within the healthcare community.
Jeff Farrar, Chair of NHS Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire ICB, said:
“It’s fantastic that this already award-winning partnership is being recognised with another nomination.
“The introduction of the partnership has been a positive step forward in providing expert urgent care for people experiencing mental health crisis, helping many thousands of people to receive the care they need a place, and from a service, that best suits their needs.
“It’s a great example of providers, commissioner and wider partners coming together to provide innovative solutions to serve the needs of the local population.”
HSJ editor Alastair McLellan, adds; “As always, it’s a pleasure at this stage of our lengthy judging process, to be able to offer my congratulations to the Integrated Access Partnership as the shortlisted finalists are revealed for this years’ HSJ Patient Safety Awards.
“Every one of the projects, Trusts, teams and individuals who entered this year have truly demonstrated their skills in setting – and delivering – the highest of standards in healthcare excellence, presenting our venerable panel of judges with some difficult decisions.”
The Integrated Access Partnership was shortlisted ahead of the official awards ceremony to be held later this year in Manchester (September 18th). At this first stage of judging, the shortlist was set against three clear criteria; clinical and specialist excellence; enacting organisation-wide change and service/system innovation.
The full list of finalists for the 2023 HSJ Patient Safety Awards can be found at HSJ Patient Safety Awards website.
Winners will be announced during the awards ceremony at Manchester Central, on September 18th 2023.
