Liaison Psychiatry named runner-up in national Clinical Audit Heroes awards
Devon Partnership NHS Trust's (DPT) Liaison Psychiatry Service has been named runner-up in the Patient Safety category of the Clinical Audit Heroes awards.
This is a national programme celebrating excellence in clinical audit and quality improvement.
The Liaison Psychiatry Services at DPT supports people admitted to emergency departments or inpatient wards at Devon's acute hospital trusts in Exeter, Barnstaple and Torquay.
Liaison psychiatrists deal with a range of problems including self-harm, adjustment to illness and physical and psychological co-morbidities.
The service was recognised for its project integrating safety planning into assessments for people attending emergency departments. This person-centred approach focuses on identifying individual strengths, personal networks, harm minimisation/ reduction and support available to individuals via services.
The service will next be focusing on integrating this style of working into their work on the hospital wards and improving carer involvement.
Thomas Manders, Associate Clinical Director for Liaison Psychiatry, at DPT said: We are delighted to have been recognised in the Clinical Audit Heroes awards. By taking an evidence-informed approach to improvement, clinical audits help to target change where it will have the greatest impact.
The Clinical Audit Heroes awards are a key part of Clinical Audit Awareness Week, hosted by the Healthcare Quality Improvement Partnership (HQIP) in collaboration with the national quality improvement network N-QI-CAN. This year's campaign runs between Monday 2 to Friday 6 June, and shines a spotlight on the role of clinical audit in improving care and safety across the NHS.
Clinical audits help review and measure healthcare performance against national and local standards, identifying areas for improvement.