A Gold STAR celebration event was held on Thursday 24 October in Education Centre 1, awarding teams who raise quality standards across the Trust, and are dedicated to improving staff and patient experience.
At the event gold stars were awarded to four teams, making 87 gold areas within Lancashire Teaching Hospitals.
The awards celebrate teams who continue to go the extra mile, making a difference for our patients and their families, as well as each other. The gold stars were awarded to teams who have achieved three consecutive silver stars and been approved to progress to the prestigious gold star.
A welcome boost to morale, the celebration events were truly inspirational as teams shared their journey to gold.
Key themes for success which shone through included leadership, teamwork, strong team ethos, and listening and responding to staff feedback and patient feedback.
All leaders and teams demonstrated drive and determination to continuously improve their standards of safety and quality.
Presentations were made by Director of Communication & Engagement Naomi Duggan, joined by nursing, midwifery and allied health professional colleagues, governors and colleagues from the Trust Board and the Quality Assurance Team.
Winners were: Post Discharge Frailty Support; Ward 2a, Main Theatres Royal Preston Hospital and Oral Maxillofacial Surgery (OMFS).
Post Discharge Frailty Support was established at the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, implementing nurse-led telephone follow up and support tor discharged patients over the age of 75, with the aim of preventing unnecessary re-admissions, actioning and escalating concerns, utilising existing frailty and community services, signposting to other third sector services, and educating and promoting self-management of frailty syndromes.
Areas of good practice included good systems and processes, including daily multi-disciplinary team meetings, very thorough documentation around communication and plans, while staff feel supported by line management and are knowledgeable about the service and are proud to work for the team.
Ward 2a started out as a new team in January 2022 following a restructure, and on the back of two previous STAR audits, where they achieved silver stars, they implemented a number of positive changes.
Communication is key within the team, with excellent role models, excellent Audit Management and Tracking (AMaT) audits, regular feedback at safety huddles and a monthly report shared with the team.
There are regular away days, social events and unit challenges, while management have an open-door policy, and a focus on being approachable and welcoming.
The Theatres team detailed their journey to gold, which has seen their STAR rating improve from 72% in 2017 to 94% in May this year.
Aims going forward include building on strong foundations, improving medicines management and streamlining instrument sets.
The last team to achieve GOLD was the OMFS & Dental Specialties outpatient unit, which is a multidisciplinary department comprising Oral Maxillofacial Surgery, Special Care, Paediatric, Orthodontic and Restorative Dentistry, providing treatment for both adult and paediatric patients with complex needs.
Documentation received 100% in the STAR audit with no improvement required. Daily cleaning schedules are complete, with visible use of I Am Clean stickers, while there are regular checks for the resuscitation trolley on My Kit Check, and a daily safety huddle and team brief is completed before each session.
Congratulations to all the teams!
The Safety Triangulation Accreditation Review (STAR) quality assurance framework, incorporating STAR monthly reviews and STAR accreditation visits began in 2017, and there are currently 124 clinical areas included within STAR.
The Trust has achieved and exceeded our big plan ambition of 75% silver and above, with 92% of areas currently rated silver and above.
Accreditation systems are promoted by the CQC and NHS as a recognised method for organisations to demonstrate assurance from ward to board.
