The South London Office of Specialised Services (SLOSS) is thrilled to reveal that our opt-out blood-borne virus (BBV) testing in South London emergency departments initiative has secured a spot on the shortlist for Acute Sector Innovation of the Year at the esteemed HSJ Awards 2023. This nomination highlights the project’s exceptional contributions to healthcare and secures its participation in the upcoming prestigious awards ceremony later this year.
A remarkable 1,456 entries were submitted for this year’s awards, with 223 projects advancing to the final shortlist. Following an extensive judging process, the South London Office of Specialised Services emerged as a finalist. Our opt-out BBV testing initiative particularly stood out as a genuine “success story,” earning a coveted place on the panel’s shortlist.
There are ten emergency departments within South London, all of which offer HIV tests for patients who are having a blood test already. Nine out of ten emergency departments have now expanded this to include hepatitis B/C testing as well.
The ambition of BBV testing in this setting is to diagnose patients earlier, so they can start treatment sooner and experience better health outcomes. The percentage of people with advanced HIV at the time of diagnosis remains high in the UK, leading to an almost eight-fold increased risk of death. To achieve the target of zero HIV transmissions by 2030 and elimination of hepatitis C, NHS England funded implementation of opt-out blood-borne virus testing in emergency departments in high prevalence areas in England.
The aim was to achieve over 90% uptake across every ED. Since April 2022, more than 300 individuals received new diagnoses of HIV, hepatitis B, and hepatitis C. This facilitated prompt access to care, averting negative health outcomes, transmission, and generating financial savings for the NHS. It relied on inventive solutions within a culture centred on sharing best practices.
Dr Liz Hamlyn, South East Clinical Lead for the South London HIV Network, comments:
“We are very excited to have been nominated for this award. It is testament to the hard work of emergency department, HIV, hepatology and data teams who have made this project a success. We have improved testing uptake across the region, diagnosing patients who would not have otherwise known they have a blood-borne virus and bringing them into care.”
The next stage of the process is for the team to present their reasons for why they should win the award to a judging panel in September. The winners will then be revealed during the awards ceremony scheduled for 16 November, at Evolution London. This event not only upholds the HSJ Awards’ timeless ethos of sharing best practices, improving patient outcomes, and fostering innovative healthcare service delivery but also serves as a well-deserved appreciation for the sector during the NHS’s 75th anniversary year.
The 2023 awards judging panel, comprising influential figures within the healthcare community, including Chief Executive Crystal Oldman from the Queen’s Nursing Institute, Dr. Habib Naqvi MBE from NHS Race and Health Observatory, Anne-Marie Vine-Lott, Health Director at Vodafone, and Sir Jim Mackey, National Director of Elective Recovery at NHS England, along with esteemed Chief Executives from NHS Trusts across the UK, meticulously selected the shortlisted candidates.
For a complete list of nominees for the 2023 HSJ Awards, please visit https://awards.hsj.co.uk/, along with details about the Awards partners at https://awards.hsj.co.uk/partners.
To delve deeper into the Opt-out Blood-borne Virus (BBV) Testing in South London Emergency Departments initiative, click here.
Notes to Editors
For more information/media enquiries relating to the 2023 HSJ awards, please contact Jo Hudson or Katie Hinksman, via katie.hinksman@trinitypr.co.uk, or tel: 0207 112 4905 / 0770 948 7959.
For more information relating to South London Office of Specialised Services, please contact Ciara Martin, on ciara.martin7@nhs.net.
About South London Office of Specialised Services
The South London Office of Specialised Services (SLOSS) provides a central role in transformation through a programme approach across its partners, the South London ICSs and tertiary providers. These six organisations have taken the opportunity to work collaboratively to integrate specialised services and deliver an end to end pathway approach for patients.
In preparation for integrated care boards (ICBs) in England to take on the delegation of specialised services from NHS England in April 2024, the South London programme ensures the necessary infrastructure and operating models are in place to achieve success for our patient populations.
South London partners
- Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust
- King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
- St George’s University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
- South East London Integrated Care System
- South West London Integrated Care System
- The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust
About the HSJ Awards
The most coveted accolade in UK healthcare, the HSJ awards is the largest annual benchmarking and recognition programme for the health sector. Over the last 40 years the awards have been celebrating healthcare excellence through huge political, technological and financial challenges within the sector.
Through a rigorous, fair and transparent judging process the awards produce a roll call of the best organisations, teams and people in the NHS and the wider health sector.
