3:00am Tuesday 18th November 2008
By Claire Lomax
A local hospital trust is celebrating after winning a major national award.
Airedale NHS Trust has been named Dr Foster Small Trust of the year in the Dr Foster Hospital Guide, in recognition of the Trust’s excellent contribution to quality care in the NHS.
The Trust was assessed across ten categories including patient satisfaction, hospital mortality and waiting times.
The Hospital Guide praised the Trust’s stroke services, as not one of the 100 patients looked at had to enter into long-term care.
Other factors driving the Trust’s success include focusing on admissions for patients over 80 where a whole care team is involved in assessing patients from admission onwards.
Airedale Hospital’s director of nursing Bridget Fletcher said: “We are proud of our staff – they have all worked hard for this fantastic result. It is a great accolade for the trust.”
Tim Kelsey, chairman of the executive board, Dr Foster Intelligence, said: “Congratulations to all the staff at Airedale NHS Trust.
“They are absolutely determined to put patients at the heart of their services and should be commended for that.”
Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust also performed well. Miles Scott, chief executive, said: “We are delighted to once again have been named as one of the trusts in the top ten per cent in terms of mortality.
“This means that we are one of the safest places to be treated at in England.
"In the past year we have continued to put in place measures to further improve the safety of our patients, including a major hygiene programme, which has seen a significant reduction in MRSA and our involvement in the Safer Patient Initiative.”
The Dr Foster Hospital Guide was originally published to encourage greater transparency about healthcare performance.
Patients and the public can now access a new website to compare and contrast services at NHS and private hospitals at drfosterhealth.co.uk
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