The Clatterbridge Cancer Centre takes home HSJ Patient Safety Award for virtual video

Posted 19th September 2023

(l-r) Chris Butler from City of Liverpool College, Danny Hutton, Nicky Hutton and Tom Cummings

(l-r) Chris Butler from City of Liverpool College, Danny Hutton, Nicky Hutton and Tom Cummings

Our Radiotherapy Team were winners at last night's HSJ Patient Safety Awards, taking home the accolade for Virtual or Remote Care Initiative of the Year for an innovation patient video.

Developed in collaboration with students from City of Liverpool College, the video features an avatar of our of our Therapeutic Radiographers, Tom (left in photo), welcoming patients to our Main Reception, giving them a tour of the treatment floor and telling them exactly what to expect from their radiotherapy appointment.

The video has been viewed on our social media over 2,300 times with patients and other radiotherapy professionals commenting on the benefits it will have for patients, reducing their anxiety before appointments, assisting them in navigating their way around our hospital and helping them understand what to expect from their appointment.

You can watch the video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iCbVFLWL8VQ

Also being acknowledged at the ceremony was our Haematology Oncology Faster Diagnostic Service (HO FDS) which received a High Commendation in the category of Best Use of Integrated Care and Partnership Working in Patient Safety.

A valuable collaboration with our colleagues at Liverpool University Hospitals, the vision of the HO FDS is to support earlier and faster diagnosis for patients with suspected lymphoma.

Supported by funding from the Cheshire and Merseyside Cancer Alliance, Phase One of the project was launched in March 2022 and involves working with the already-established Rapid Diagnostic Service for head and neck cancers at Aintree University Hospital, running a ‘one-stop’, same day ultrasound/fine needle aspirations service within an outpatient setting.

Since it was established, 253 patients have been referred to the RDS clinic, with 98 patients being diagnosed with a confirmed lymphoma. The average wait time from referral to diagnosis has been reduced by over 50%, from 24 days in March 2022, to 10 days by February 2023.

Congratulations to both teams. We’re so proud as a Trust to be constantly developing new and exciting innovations like these that have a real benefit to our patients – the feedback from patients and professionals about both of these projects has been outstanding.