DUDLEY'S hospital trust has won a top national award for its lifesaving digital project to ensure patients are screened for sepsis and treated quickly.

The Trust picked up the award for Best Use of Data at the Leading Healthcare Awards 2020 - the winners of which were announced at a digital ceremony on April 2.

The project has increased the Trust’s sepsis screening of eligible Emergency Department patients to 97.7 per cent, and has led to deaths from sepsis falling to a historical low and below the national average.

The Emergency Department at Russells Hall Hospital co-ordinated with the project team who are rolling out digital innovations across the Trust, including the move to seamless Electronic Patient Records (EPR).

They also worked with the Trust’s data analytics team to collect and understand sepsis data including themes and incidents.

A designated sepsis screening EPR tool and sepsis live dashboard were both introduced. As a result, more patients were screened and intravenous antibiotics administered within the crucial 60 minutes.

Chief executive Diane Wake said: “There are around 250,000 cases of sepsis a year in the UK. At least 46,000 people die annually as a result of the condition and timely sepsis management continues to be a national issue.

“We wanted to find better ways to manage sepsis care to provide the very best for our patients. Improving the screening of patients for sepsis and ensuring timely administration of antibiotics was crucial.

“I am delighted that the hard work of all involved has been recognised with this award – but we are all even more delighted that we are seeing improved outcomes for our patients. However we are far from complacent and will continue to do all we can to ensure lives are saved.”

The Dudley Group was also highly commended in the Team of the Year category at the awards which celebrate and share great work across the health and care sector.

Diane Wake said the commendation for the Dudley Respiratory Advisory Service - a multi-professional team dedicated to improving the care and quality of life for respiratory patients - was "well-deserved" .

She added: “Our respiratory advisory service is a great example of team working across all disciplines - consultants, specialist nurses, physiotherapists and clinical support workers – based in hospital and community sites. They have been successful in getting people out of hospital safely as quickly as possible, and also keeping them in their homes in the first place. Most importantly this is much better for patients, but it also reduces the pressure on acute services."