Category > Transforming systems and services

Improving asthma diagnosis and patient care in Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire

News

Over the past year, the West of England AHSN has been supporting six Primary Care Networks (PCNs) in Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire (BNSSG) to implement FeNO testing, which supports faster and more accurate diagnosis of asthma. 27 practices are now offering the service, with 775 tests performed to December 2022. The project forms…

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Transforming asthma care across the South West of England

News

The West of England and South West AHSNs, alongside the South West Severe Asthma Network (SWSAN), have been working with 10 hospital trusts across the South West of England to improve asthma pathways and enhance access to innovative treatments for adult patients. A new evaluation shows the collaborative project, which was awarded Pathway Transformation Funding…

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Evaluation finds PReCePT national programme effective in helping to prevent cerebral palsy in premature babies

News

The PReCePT programme to increase the use of magnesium sulphate, a £1 injection that helps prevent cerebral palsy in premature babies, has been found effective according to an evaluation by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). The findings, led by researchers at the University of Bristol, are published in the Archives of…

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Launching our project to improve non-invasive ventilation

News

In December 2022, 24 colleagues from six regional acute hospital trusts and the West of England AHSN came together to launch a new collaborative project focused on improving patient outcomes from non-invasive ventilation (NIV). Watch our introductory video on Vimeo: Acute NIV is an evidence based, clinically effective and lifesaving treatment used to manage patients…

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Improving patient outcomes: non-invasive ventilation

Blog article

In this blog, project Clinical Lead and Respiratory Consultant at the Royal United Hospital Bath, Dr Rebecca Mason, looks forward to the launch of a new West of England collaborative to reduce mortality following non-invasive ventilation (NIV). A design and launch event is being held on 9 December. Here Rebecca explains more… Acute NIV is…

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Regional neonatal units celebrate achievements including highest delayed cord clamping rates

News

Maternity and neonatal (MatNeo) units across the South West are celebrating achieving the highest rate of delayed cord clamping in England and Wales for the second year in a row, as measured by the 2021 National Neonatal Audit Programme (NNAP). Evidence shows that delaying cord clamping reduces death in preterm babies by nearly a third. Celebrating success Rates…

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Save the date: West of England AHSN conference – 9 March 2023

News

Integrating innovation: the art of the possible in health and care We’re excited to announce the return of the West of England AHSN conference on Thursday 9 March 2023 – so keep the date free in your diary! Taking place at Aerospace Bristol, home of the iconic Concorde, the focus of our full-day event will…

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Patients in Bath and North East Somerset, Swindon and Wiltshire receiving faster and more reliable asthma diagnoses

News

A new evaluation has found more patients in Bath and North East Somerset, Swindon and Wiltshire (BSW) are receiving faster and more reliable diagnoses of asthma thanks to an ambitious project designed to ensure adoption and spread of proven innovative products.  A system wide project, led by the West of England AHSN, took place between…

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Care home staff find the Recommended Summary Plan for Emergency Care and Treatment (ReSPECT) empowers residents

News

GPs and care home staff see the Recommended Summary Plan for Emergency Care and Treatment (ReSPECT) as positive and empowering for residents, according to an evaluation carried out by researchers at NIHR ARC West in collaboration with the West of England Academic Health Science Network (AHSN) and published in Age and Ageing. To assess experiences with ReSPECT, researchers interviewed 16 GPs…

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Launching PreCiSSIon: Preventing Caesarean Birth Surgical Site Infection

Blog article

In this blog our Clinical Lead, Lesley Jordan, looks forward to the launch of a new collaborative to reduce surgical site infection (SSI) following caesarean birth by implementing an adapted PreCiSSIon bundle in all acute maternity units in the West of England region. The launch will take place during International Infection Prevention Week 2022, 17…

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