WINNER
Small and Beautifully Formed, Isle of Wight
by The Lighthouse Clinic
Since 2014 the Isle of Wight has had a fully integrated dermatology service, incorporating Tiers 2 and 3 seamlessly. The Lighthouse Clinic service provides community and secondary NHS care to Island residents, reducing the need to travel to the mainland for specialist care. The service is run efficiently and is a national leader with its innovative ways of delivering care. There are two visiting locum consultants supervising a close team of experienced GPwSIs, ANPs and HCAs. The clinical work is run hand in hand with a small, efficient administrative team, with the backing of collaborative contracting with the local NHS Trust and CCG.
Judges’ comments:
“This entry from the Isle of Wight is a brilliant description of a highly effective team and the judges thought that there was much to learn from their innovative way of working and their approach to care. Particularly impressive was their use of remote consultation, teledermatology and integrated care. Positive and uplifting!”
HIGHLY COMMENDED
London North West Dermatology Team
by London North West University NHS Trust
The London North West Dermatology team (Northwick Park, Central Middlesex and Ealing Hospital) have worked hard and succeeded in improving substantive recruitment of consultants to stabilise the service. It strived to improve collaborative working with other specialities for its biologic patients. Pre-COVID-19, novel, pharmacist-led clinics were successfully implemented for acne, systemic and biologic patients. The team has embraced change by adding a two-week-wait teledermatology service to help manage increased demand.
Judges’ comments:
“This application from London North West Dermatology Team, demonstrated a broad range of innovation and commitment. The use of all professionals within the service has shown excellent results and it was great to see the skills of the Pharmacist being utilised. The team approach has showed a number of positive outcomes which have improved patient care.”
HIGHLY COMMENDED
Southampton’s Intelligent Triage
by University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust
Aligned with the priorities of NHS England Outpatient Transformation in Dermatology, the newly-created team designed and implemented a local e-referral system (eRS), for referrals and advice and guidance (A&G), called Intelligent Triage. It is fully integrated into University Hospital Southampton’s electronic patient record and document management systems. Many UK hospital Dermatology departments have increased their A&G/referral activity via the existing eRS for A&G or new commercial systems, but these may not be integrated into hospital electronic systems. This can result in costs and omissions in patients’ records, performance data and workload management. The new A&G/referral eRS has overcome these limitations.
Judges’ comments:
“This is a great application from the University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust focusing on improved communication between primary and secondary care. Team collaboration and reporting has been structured to ensure efficiency. Excellent cooperation between different tiers of dermatology care.”
FINALIST
University Hospitals Dorset Dermatology Team
by University Hospitals Dorset Dermatology Team
High volume skin cancer services continued, despite redeployment, staff sickness, and increased referrals. The team developed a virtual 2WW skin cancer service and image uploading portal, allowing referrals to be received via ERS, for swift triage and prioritisation. Based on the teledermatology service review, guidance hubs were introduced, with one consultant supervising four trainees, improving training opportunities and response time. GPs were educated to improve referral quality, support communication with secondary care and enhance patient care. Waiting lists were validated and the backlog was cleared by hosting evening and weekend clinics, plus a new, high volume clinic in the local shopping centre, drawing national attention.
Judges’ comments:
“This was a great example of an innovative team who used the difficulties encountered during the pandemic to radically change their pathway for the better. The judges especially liked the innovative idea of hosting a high flow clinic in a shopping centre, making advice accessible and visual in the community.”
FINALIST
An Integrated Approach: Getting It Right First Time in Dermatology High Cost Drug Management
by University Hospitals of Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Trust
As the UK marks the second anniversary of the first national COVID-19 lockdown, there has been much reflection on the profound impact that the pandemic has had on the dermatology service across Coventry and Warwickshire. During this time, the University Hospitals of Coventry and Warwickshire Lead Independent Prescribing Pharmacist for High Cost Drugs and Homecare closely supported the dermatology multidisciplinary team to drive several quality improvement initiatives. The team took an integrative approach to cost-effectively transform dermatology high cost drug management to get it right first time during the pandemic and beyond.
Judges’ comments:
“This entry from the University Hospitals of Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Trust demonstrates an effective and timely project with PDSA cycles spearheaded by their talented lead pharmacist. It really was fantastic to see pharmacists working with the MDT to secure access to treatment for patients and continue treatment safely during the pandemic.”
