Shropshire's specialist orthopaedic hospital commended in national award

The National PROMs Network – of which The Robert Jones and Agnes Hunt Orthopaedic Hospital is one of three founder members – is a finalist in the Operations and Performance Initiative of the Year category in the Health Service Journal (HSJ) Values Award.

Sammy Davies, quality outcomes manager at the Oswestry-based hospital, helped set up the network alongside colleagues from Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust and Wrightington, Wigan and Leigh NHS Foundation Trust.

They have been highlighted for their collaborative work to share experiences in collecting and using patient reported outcome measures (PROMs).

PROMs show the difference between the health of patients pre- and post-operatively. The data comes from a calculation called the overall score, which is derived from the PROMs questionnaire. Patients fill in the same questionnaire before and after their procedure to assess their health, with the difference between the scores being used to assess the effectiveness of their care.

Sammy said: “To be shortlisted as a finalist in the Operations and Performance Initiative of the Year at the HSJ Value Awards is a real achievement for The National PROMs Network.

“Initially we focussed on orthopaedics, however it became clear that there is a real need for a similar resource across different specialities. For many organisations, PROMs data collection is resource-intensive which means that enough data isn’t collected, or when it is collected, it’s not in a standardised way nationally reducing the value of the data outside of individual trusts.

Covid-19 contribution

“Since the launch of the network, we have supported NHS trusts to develop their own PROMs programmes to give them access to data that supports service improvement and provides evidence of the effectiveness of services offered to patients.”

The Operations and Performance Initiative of the Year category recognises performance measurement projects, quality improvement and new initiatives that support balancing value for money against the demands for service delivery improvements.

Alastair McLellan, HSJ editor, said: “We would like to congratulate The National PROMs Network on being shortlisted in the Operations and Performance Initiative of the Year category for the HSJ Value Awards 2021.

“This year’s finalists have not only contributed to the continued fight against the Covid-19 pandemic within the NHS but have also been exceptionally dedicated to enhancing healthcare across the UK.

“We are honoured to be recognising and celebrating their outstanding work after what is, no doubt, the most challenging year in the history of the NHS. We are looking forward to welcoming them to the ceremony in June."

Winners of the HSJ Value Awards will be announced at the end of June during an awards ceremony held at the Manchester Central conference centre.