Double win at BMJ Awards

Two teams from King’s Health Partners won British Medical Journal Awards (BMJ) at a ceremony in London on 24 April 2019.

The awards recognise the inspirational work done by doctors and their teams to improve health outcomes.

The Alcohol Assertive Outreach team at South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust [pictured right] won Mental Health Team of the Year. The team were recognised for their innovative alcohol assertive outreach service that improves outcomes for alcohol-dependent patients. 

King's Health Partners believes that reducing harmful drinking is one of the Vital 5 key measures that if recorded consistently across the NHS would strengthen multiple care pathways, massively
increase value and improve patient outcomes.

Working with patients from five south London trusts, including Guy’s and St Thomas’ and King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trusts, the team provides regular proactive support to patients at home or in their neighbourhood, rather than asking them to come to a clinic or hospital.

Guy's and St Thomas' Charity provided funding to set up the service and its impact is being evaluated by a team of King's College London researchers, working as part of the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Collaboration for Leadership in Applied Health Research and Care (CLAHRC) South London.

Addictions Clinical Director at South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust Dr Emily Finch said:

I am delighted that their excellent work has been recognised by in this way. Receiving this award is a great morale boost for NHS addiction services which have been challenged in recent years by extensive funding cuts. This BMJ award recognises the importance of high-quality multidisciplinary NHS care for patients with complex alcohol-related needs.

Professor Colin Drummond at King's College London said:

Providing more proactive care and support to this group of patients improves their health and wellbeing, releases significant cost savings for the NHS, and reduces pressure on A&E departments.

Meanwhile the National Xeroderma Pigmentosum (XP) service at Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust [pictured right] has won Dermatology Team of the Year.

The team was recognised for providing outstanding care to patients with Xeroderma Pigmentosum (XP).  People with the condition are not able to repair the damage caused to their skin by the ultraviolet (UV) part of daylight.  They can burn easily and can also develop eye, nerve or brain problems, and are more likely to develop skin cancers.

As part of the service patients attend an annual multidisciplinary clinic where they can see a dermatologist, dermatological surgeon, ophthalmologist, neurologist, neuropsychologist, geneticist, and specialist nurse.

The specialist nurse also visits the patient at home and gives advice, for example on fitting ultraviolet protective window films as a preventative measure. The service has reduced the number of appointments and the amount of unnecessary surgery.

The service was set up by Dr Robert Sarkany, consultant dermatologist at St John’s Institute of Dermatology at Guy’s and St Thomas’ Foundation Trust, in 2010 with support from the XP patient group.

Dr Sarkany said:

The National XP team is honoured to have been awarded the British Medical Journal dermatology team of the year award.

The XP team is a diverse group of nurses and doctors from six specialties, laboratory scientists, research academics and patient representatives. What unites us is a commitment to making life easier for patients and their families. The team’s work is leading to patients having a longer life expectancy.

Sandra Webb, founder of the XP Support Group, recently described the tragedy of children with XP dying of skin cancer before the service was established, and how no child with XP in Britain has died of skin cancer since the service started.

This award is recognition of the dedication and ingenuity of the XP team. It also recognises the imagination and ambition of Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust, which provides an environment where innovative services are supported and can thrive.

The King’s Health Partners Addictions Clinical Academic Group are one of the largest providers of NHS addictions services in the UK. 

The King’s Health Partners Genetics, Rheumatology, Infection, Immunology and Dermatology Clinical Academic Group promotes academic input into the delivery of state-of-the-art clinical services, fuels investigative clinical research, and promotes the translation of basic science discoveries.