Community and hospital teams shortlisted for national award

A team praised by an amputee patient for "giving something to aim for and achieve" has been shortlisted for a top award. 

The Amputee Rehabilitation Service at Guy’s and St Thomas’ is a finalist in the Managing Long Term Conditions category of the Patient Safety and Care Awards.

In June 2013, the service opened the state-of-the-art Amputee Rehabilitation Unit in Kennington. The unit gives patients intensive therapy for seven weeks and provides exercise, relaxation, counselling and even gardening classes to prepare amputees for life after leaving the unit.

Angela McCrae, Head of Regional Specialist Services at Guy’s and St Thomas’, says: "It's wonderful that our innovative approach has received recognition. 

"Through intensive rehabilitation and with the team's support, new amputees and their families feel more able to face the physical, emotional and social challenges that lie ahead."

A dedicated team of therapists, nurses, artificial limb specialists and counsellors provides early and intensive therapy to help people with lower or upper limb amputations get mobile and independent after surgery.

Working closely with the hospital team at St Thomas' and the Bowley Close Rehabilitation Centre in Crystal Palace, the team has helped to reduce the time patients stay in hospital.

Pharmacy team helps Evelina London kids

The Pharmacy team in Evelina London Children’s Hospital has developed a safer way of giving children morphine pain relief – the only known system of its kind in the world. 

The team are finalists in the Improving Safety in Medicines Management category of the Patient Safety and Care Awards.

Stephen Tomlin, consultant pharmacist, says :”Within any hospital there is a risk that children can be given too much or too little pain relief. Doctors and nurses have to carry out difficult calculations to work out the correct doses of pain relief according to the child’s weight. Giving too much pain relief can even be fatal. 

“We now have our own special syringes manufactured that contain the right amount of pain relief for the child’s size so staff can quickly choose the right syringe for each patient. The solution is given to the child using sophisticated electronic pumps that deliver the pain relief over time. 

“We hope this simple change can be used in hospitals around the world.”

Children are given pain relief after operations or if they are suffering with pain as a result of their condition. 

The awards are run by Nursing Times, the Health Service Journal, and NHS Employers. Winners will be announced on Tuesday 15 July.