Victory for OUH at Royal College of Physicians Awards

Three initiatives at Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust were heralded at the 2020 Royal College of Physicians Awards, with a winner and two finalists.

• Our Moving Medicine initiative was a winner in the Patient-Centred Care category, which recognises projects that have placed patients' needs, view, and involvement at their heart, demonstrating a truly patient-centred approve to improving care
• Our Active Hospital team was a finalist in the Quality Improvement Category, which celebrates projects that have put system-wide changes in place to achieve a measurable improvement in the quality of health services, patient care, and health outcomes
• Our RhADIO (Rheumatology Assessment Database Innovation in Oxford) project was a finalist in the Digital category, which recognises and rewards the use of new or existing technologies or digitally driven projects that have contributed to significant patient care or health outcomes

Professor Meghana Pandit, Chief Medical Officer at the Trust, said: "We are all immensely proud of the innovative approach and enthusiastic nature of our teams.

"They are committed to providing excellent care for our patients, constantly working to improve patient experience and drive change and development. Their work has not only been of benefit to our patients, but we have been able to teach and guide other trusts to help them provide the best possible care, too."

You can read more about our teams' excellent work below.

Moving Medicine 

The Moving Medicine project is an initiative by the Facility of Sport and Exercise and Medicine (FSEM) in partnership with Public Health England, Sport England, Sport Scotland, and NHS Scotland.

Locally, it is led by our consultants in Sports and Exercise Medicine, with a team of over 800 healthcare workers.

It is dedicated to sharing best practice, research findings and advice about physical activity with clinicians and patients to create a healthier, happier, and more active nation.

It explores the integration of physical activity in a secondary care setting, and a case study about the successful results of the pilot was published by Public Health England.

Dr Natasha Jones, Moving Medicine Lead and Consultant in Sport and Exercise Medicine at the Trust, said: "We were absolutely delighted to win this award, and really pleased to see that the benefits of physical activity in recovery are being recognised nationally.

"The integration of physical activity intervention at every appropriate contact in healthcare will confer significant preventative benefit to the NHS."

Active Hospital pilot

The Active Hospital pilot is an initiative based at the Trust as a national pilot site.  It aims to embed physical activity within care pathways to support patient’s recovery when they are in hospital, and improve their levels of physical activity.

The Active Hospital toolkit, designed by our Active Hospital team, supports other trusts and healthcare workers to make physical activity a core part of inpatient and outpatient treatment.

Dr Chris Speers, Active Hospital Lead, said: "Public health experts say that if exercise were a pill, it would be one of the most cost-effective drugs ever invented. Physical activity can boost strength, fitness, self-esteem, mood, sleep quality and energy, which are key factors in overcoming illness.

"With this in mind, we piloted the use of physical activity as part of the treatment to help patients recover sooner and better."

Staff working within these pathways have been trained in the benefits of physical activity and motivational interviewing. The teams have developed exercise classes, patient information leaflets, videos, and bed-based, chair-based, and standing-exercise programmes suitable for inpatient use which can be adapted to patients' mobility level.

Dr Julia Newton, Clinical Lead for Rheumatology and Sport and Exercise Medicine, said: "The fact that both our Moving Medicine and Active Hospital initiatives were recognised as part of these awards goes to show not only their hard work, but also the increased recognition of physical activity in keeping people well, improving their recovery, and building their strength to live longer, happier lives.

"We're incredibly proud of our teams and look forward to developing our services further and helping more patients and staff."

RhADIO

One of our rheumatologists, Professor Raashid Luqmani, was a finalist for his work in creating the Rheumatology Assessment Database Innovation in Oxford (RhADIO), which has changed the way we treat rheumatology patients.

Launched in 2016, the database is used to record patient diagnosis and treatment, and record evaluations specific to the patient's condition - allowing staff to track progress over time and tailor treatment appropriately. Patient conditions are also scored over time and RhADIO holds data securely all in one place, making the information much more accessible for staff, and plays a role in clinical decision-making.

There are several different types of assessment in the system used for evaluating different conditions.

Professor Luqmani said: "I was really pleased to receive this nomination.

"One benefit of RhADIO is that it allows staff to use a unique scoring system to determine the best treatment in line with NHS England and NICE guidelines, and then track how the patient progresses on that particular course. It's well-used in our departments and the staff feedback has been really positive.

"Recently, I used the database to identify over 5,000 of our patients who were at increased risk of COVID-19 because of their condition and/or its treatment. We were then able to send them specific advice on shielding."