King’s College Hospital (KCH), South London Cardiac Operational Delivery Network and South London Office for Specialised Services are delighted to announce that the OPAT (outpatient parenteral antimicrobial therapy) service at KCH has been shortlisted for Medicines, Pharmacy & Prescribing Initiative of the Year at the HSJ Awards, recognising an outstanding contribution to healthcare and securing a place at the prestigious awards ceremony later this year.

A ‘record-breaking’ 1,456 entries have been received for this year’s awards, with 223 project and individuals reaching the final shortlist, making it the biggest awards programme in the award’s 43-year history. The high volume – and exceptional quality – of applications once again mirrors the impressive levels of innovation and care continually being developed within the UK’s healthcare networks.

Following the thorough judging process, the team was shortlisted for their work, ahead of the official awards ceremony to be held later this year (16 November), with its OPAT Service standing out as a real ‘success story’ worthy of a prized place on the panel’s shortlist.

Bed capacity and delayed discharges are problems that NHS trusts encounter daily. The new OPAT Service at KCH provides an effective initiative that can be used to confront this issue, whilst bettering patient outcomes and experience for patients. The OPAT service uses an outsourced home care provider to deliver and administer IV antimicrobial drugs at patient homes for those who are otherwise medically fit but are awaiting to complete a long course of IV antibiotics. Between September 2022 and July 2023, this initiative has freed up an impressive 3,522 bed days, trained 60 patients and carers to self-administer their IV antibiotics, and identified 46 patients to switch to oral antibiotics.  For patients, this allows them to return home, rather than unnecessarily stay in hospital, and this increased bed capacity can now be dedicated to other patients, thereby expediting their care and recovery journey.

The awards ceremony will not only reflect the HSJ Awards’ enduring ethos of “sharing best practice, improving patient outcomes and innovating drivers of better service” but will also serve as a timely and well-deserved thank you to the sector during the 75th anniversary year of the NHS.

The 2023 awards judging panel was once again made up of a diverse range of highly influential and respected figures within the healthcare community, including; Crystal Oldman, Chief Executive, Queen’s Nursing Institute; Dr Habib Naqvi MBE, Chief Executive, NHS Race and Health Observatory; Anne-Marie Vine-Lott, Director of Health, Vodafone; Sir Jim Mackey, National Director of Elective Recovery, NHS England, as well as a range of esteemed Chief Executives from NHS Trusts across the UK.

The full list of nominees for the 2023 HSJ awards can be found at https://awards.hsj.co.uk/ alongside details of the Awards partners at https://awards.hsj.co.uk/partners.

To learn more about the KCH OPAT Service, 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.martin@gstt.nhs.uk.

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.