Queen Victoria Hospital shortlisted for two prestigious national awards

Queen Victoria Hospital NHS Foundation Trust (QVH) and med-tech company Feedback Medical have been shortlisted for two awards for their collaboration which has led to a reduction in patient wait times and unnecessary hospital appointments.

The HSJ Partnership Awards celebrate collaborations with the NHS. The QVH and Feedback Medical partnership has been shortlisted in the ‘Best Contribution to Improving the Efficiency of NHS Services’ and ‘Most Effective Contribution to Clinical Redesign’ categories. The shortlist was announced today (Monday 9 December).

The nominations recognise the success of their pilot project providing a straight-to-diagnostic breathlessness pathway using Feedback Medical’s Bleepa software. It has achieved significant improvements in efficiency and patient wait times.

The Bleepa software allows GPs and the multidisciplinary team at QVH to collaborate digitally for patients needing diagnostic tests as part of a breathlessness pathway. The pilot project saw a 63% reduction in patient waiting times from referral to treatment compared to the national target, significantly decreasing the number of patients waiting over six weeks.

Impressively 90% of referrals were managed without the need for in-person specialist appointments. This approach has improved patient experience and resulted in efficiency improvements which could be applied to other diagnostic pathways.

Dr Ian Francis, Deputy Medical Director at Queen Victoria Hospital, said: “We are pleased the success of the pilot programme has been recognised by the HSJ judging panel. We have had lots of interest in us sharing our best practice with others wanting to adopt similar symptom-based pathways and have presented both regionally and nationally. We are looking forward to the next stage of rolling this out to additional pathways to maximise clinical and efficiency improvements for our patients.”

Now in their eighth year, the HSJ Partnership Awards have become the most recognised and respected mark of the strongest relationships between suppliers and the NHS.

The selected winners will be announced during the awards ceremony at Evolution London on 20 March 2025.

The full list of nominees for the 2025 HSJ Partnership Awards can be found at https://partnership.hsj.co.uk/finalists-2025

For more information please email the QVH Press Office at qvh.communications@nhs.net