• Bolton NHS Foundation Trust has been shortlisted for three Nursing Times Awards
• Finalists in Theatre and Surgical Nursing, Inclusivity in Nursing and Midwifery, Patient Safety Improvement
• Winners will be revealed at a ceremony in London on Wednesday 23 October.

Bolton NHS Foundation Trust has been shortlisted for three awards in the prestigious Nursing Times Awards 2024 for the work staff are doing to improve care for local communities.

A record of more than 700 nominations were received for this year’s awards, which bring together the nursing community to shine a light on the profession and recognise innovative, patient-focused and inclusive care.

The Trust is a finalist in the categories Theatre and Surgical Nursing, Inclusivity in the Nursing and Midwifery, and Patient Safety Improvement.

Tyrone Roberts, Chief Nursing Officer at Bolton NHS Foundation Trust, said: “To be shortlisted across three award categories at this year’s prestigious Nursing Times Awards is fantastic recognition of the innovation and high-quality care that is being delivered at our hospital and out in our communities.

“All of our teams go above and beyond to understand what changes we can introduce to transform care for our patients and service users and ensure they have the best possible care, while address health inequalities in the town.”

Supporting diabetes management in the homeless population of Bolton

The Homeless and Vulnerable Adults team and Diabetes Specialist Nurse, Lynne Wooff, have been shortlisted in the Dame Elizabeth Anionwu Award for Inclusivity in Nursing and Midwifery category.

They work closely together with homeless adults who live with, or are at risk of, diabetes to ensure they receive personalised care and support.

It includes better integration to increase screening and improve understanding and knowledge about the prevalence of the condition among the town’s homeless population.

Diabetes training and education is also being delivered to local hostels to increase the confidence and ability of staff to better support service users.

Introducing more virtual care with our admission avoidance team

The Trust’s Admission Avoidance Team has been at the forefront of driving the introduction of ‘virtual wards’ in Bolton, in order to support more people to receive the care they need at home and relieve pressure on hospital beds.

The team are shortlisted in the Patient Safety Improvement awardcategory.

Starting as a pilot with the frailty ward, the initiative was then rolled out on a larger scale to other wards, including Same Day Emergency Care and Critical Care.

Working with partner organisations, such as North West Ambulance Service, the team also identified an initiative to reduce waiting times for patients who have fallen by using dedicated nurses who can assess whether a patient is fit to stay at home or whether they need further care.

Enhancing patient safety on a surgical assessment unit

A new initiative is also underway in Royal Bolton Hospital’s Surgical Assessment Unit (SAU) to provide effective pain medication to patients experiencing painful conditions as soon as possible.

This work has now made the Theatre and Surgical Nursing award category after senior ward staff completed the Non-Medical Prescribing Course to enable them to assess patients and prescribe medication, with the support of the Acute Pain Team (APT), reducing the need to wait for a doctor.

Results have shown improved patient and staff satisfaction and enhanced patient safety, with patients at much less risk of deterioration and admission to critical care areas.

The winners will be revealed at an award’s night in London on Wednesday 23 October 2024.