Kernow Health wins prestigious award for urgent healthcare service

Kernow Health CIC has won a prestigious award at the Urgent Health UK (UHUK) conference this week, recognised for the ‘Best Quality and Safety Initiative’ within its 111 Integrated Urgent Care Service.

The innovative ‘Shift Lead Clinician Demand’ initiative combines a new Shift Lead Clinician (SLC) role, alongside an automatic dashboard that informs the clinician and shift managers of the level of demand within the service, as well as additional automatic methods to dispatch clinicians to patient's homes, streamlining their urgent care journey.

The ceremony, held on Tuesday 31st October at the Chesford Grange Hotel in Kenilworth, saw the awards presented in seven categories from over 50 entries submitted by UHUK members. The seven winners demonstrated the essential  role these providers play in helping to manage the often-crippling pressure placed on NHS services.

Testament to hard work and dedication

Speaking about the awards, Conor Burke, CEO of UHUK said: “Our award winners, and the quality of all of the submissions, illustrate how this often under-recognised sector is leading local implementation of best practice in urgent and integrated care, and working with partners every day, to keep people well, independent, and at home.”

Joseph St Leger-Francis, Associate Director of Integrated Urgent Care for Kernow Health, added: "I am thrilled by the announcement that Kernow Health CIC has been honoured with the 'Best Quality and Safety Initiative' award at the recent UHUK conference. This accolade is a testament to the hard work, innovative spirit, and dedication each member of our team brings to our service every single day.

“Our 'Shift Lead Clinician and Demand Management' initiative stood out as a beacon of innovation, ensuring that patient care is not just responsive but also safe and of the highest quality. It represents a significant step forward in our journey to deliver exceptional urgent care across Cornwall.”

Exploring challenges and opportunities

The event, organised by UHUK - a partnership of social enterprise healthcare providers covering 64% of the UK population - brought together over 150 leading healthcare professionals, policy-makers, researchers, and innovators. The aim was to explore the challenges and opportunities facing NHS primary and community services.

These providers of NHS services divert millions of patients away from overstretched ambulances, A&E departments, and GPs via services including out of hours and clinical assessment, urgent primary care, NHS 111, virtual wards, palliative care, and A&E triage and treatment.

The highest level of patient safety

Jan Randall, CEO at Kernow Health CIC recognised the hard work and dedication of the team: “I am incredibly proud of our Cornwall 111 Integrated Urgent Care Service, and this award is thoroughly deserved. The 'Shift Lead Clinician and Demand Management' initiative has been recognised for its focus on achieving the highest level of patient safety, delivered in a streamlined, patient-focussed service.

“I would like to offer our sincere congratulations from myself and the Kernow Health CIC board members. As an organisation we continually strive to innovate and develop our services to deliver the best possible patient care to the people of Cornwall, and this is a great example of such innovation.”

The seven award categories were:

• Best Innovation
• Best Partnership
• Best Health Inequality Project
• Best Patient Engagement
• Best Social Impact
• Best Quality and Safety Initiative
• Chair’s Award

Congratulations to all of the winners. More information about UHUK and its award winners can be found at www.urgenthealthuk.com