Published on: 19 November 2021

East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust were delighted to be invited to attend the highly acclaimed Health Service Journal Awards last night after being shortlisted for two awards. Sadly, they were not winners on this occasion but were delighted to be recognised anyway.

First up, was the innovative Enhanced Respiratory Unit, shortlisted in the Patient Safety Award category. The Unit, which was developed by the Trust’s Critical Care Outreach Team, was created to increase capacity to care for Covid-positive patients and improve their treatment outcomes during the second wave of the Covid pandemic.

In the months before the second wave, the Trust had been developing a plan for an Enhanced Care Area, which acts as a middle ground between the a traditional ward and the Critical Care Unit, but it was still in planning phase when the Unit reached full capacity.

Within 10 hours the Outreach Team opened the Enhanced Respiratory Unit, enabling them to manage the increasing number of critically ill patients who needed much more care than could be delivered on the ward.

The staff team on the Unit included senior clinical staff who had not worked in a ward environment for many years, respiratory physiotherapists and redeployed junior doctors, all out of their comfort zone but committed to providing the best care they could on the new Unit.

The Unit made a huge difference to patient care – in 40 days the unit saw 67 patients and so saved 247 Critical Care bed days. Without the unit, critically ill patients would have had to stay on wards without access to the higher level of oxygen available on the Enhanced Respiratory Unit, the expert interventions or specialist drugs.

“We are absolutely delighted to have just been shortlisted for such a prestigious national award. The Enhanced Respiratory Unit and the staff team running it deserve this recognition for the positive impact they have made on the outcomes for critically ill patients as such a challenging time for the Trust”, said Jane Dean, Consultant Nurse and Acute Care Team Lead.

“Developing the Unit was based on one simple premise, ‘what can be done to make sure that patients don’t die?’ We’ll always do our very best to care for as many in our community as we can and being nominated for this award is a brilliant recognition of that.”

The ELHT team has shared the results of the work of the Unit with the Trust’s across the North West, as an example of good practice. “This is a legacy for the Trust and the wider NHS”, said Jane.

“The Unit was a team effort and we are so proud of everything we’ve achieved.”

Second up was the Trust’s Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) network group which was shortlisted for their work towards racial equality.

The network, which is run by colleagues from various roles across the Trust, recognises initiatives which identify and tackle ethnic health inequalities for patients and communities and promotes race equality and inclusion within the workplace.

Since its formation, the BAME network has actively listened to the concerns of BAME staff and has worked with Executive Directors at the Trust to reboot the conversation around Race and Ethnicity to influence and set the tone with managers to reshape thoughts and cultures.

This new leadership team of BAME network Co-Chairs has now transformed ELHT into a truly inclusive, active and representative network advancing race equality across the Trust – all of it voluntary and done on top of their demanding day jobs.

Nazir Makda, Inclusion Lead at the Trust, was overjoyed when he heard of their shortlisting. He said: “I am absolutely delighted and honoured that the work of the Black Asian Minority Ethnic Employee Network has been recognised within these awards. This is a tremendous accolade as it acknowledges ELHT’s commitment to becoming Anti-Racist, Inclusive and a great place to work”.

Ethnic and racial differences are evident in relation to access, experience and outcome across the NHS and these disparities are set against higher prevalence of numerous health conditions in ethnic minority populations across the country. As well as this, it is also reported that one in every five members of the NHS workforce is from an ethnic minority background, with 15% of these staff reporting experience of discrimination at work in the past 12 months.

The BAME network at ELHT continues to drive initiatives to change these outcomes, showing tangible results in identifying and tackling health inequalities for our patients and communities and reducing the experience of discrimination across the Trust.

The network has successfully increased the proportion of BAME staff at senior levels by 16%, introduced a Reverse Mentoring scheme where Executive Directors are mentored by other colleagues across the Trust on their lived experiences and has helped the Trust become one of only 3% of organisations in the UK to publish a BAME pay gap report which helps ELHT recognise existing issues and become more transparent and accountable.

Kate Quinn, Operational Director of HR and OD said: “We are absolutely thrilled to have just been shortlisted for this award and it demonstrates the passion and commitment to the race and anti-racism agenda. In many organisations, staff describe the Trust as a separate entity but here at ELHT, we know that we all make up the Trust and are key in making the culture one that supports equality and inclusion.”

Inclusion and equality have always been at the heart of ELHT, with annual Festivals of Inclusion celebrating diversity and embracing the Trust’s multi-cultural community. It has also made a stance on racism and inclusion with its newly unveiled Inclusion wall, which depicts portraits and quotes from colleagues across the Trust about what equality and diversity means to them.

Kate added: “Our BAME network has evolved and grown over the last three years and the fact that the Trust is now making significant progress in the inclusion agenda is down to their drive to improve the experience of colleagues across the organisation.  We know that we still have much work to do but thanks to the hard work of the BAME network, we are creating a fairer and more inclusive organisation where everyone feels a sense of belonging.”