Respiratory service wins award

Kettering General Hospital’s respiratory service has won one of the Royal College of Physicians’ (RCP) Excellence in Patient Care Awards.

The service has won the college’s Innovation Award for their ambulatory management of spontaneous pneumothorax work – a service that helps to reduce the need for patients with lung conditions to spend time in hospital.

The RCP award recognises projects that have used innovative new techniques or ideas that have contributed to significant improvements in patient care or health outcomes.

The ambulatory pneumothorax service enables patients who would traditionally have been admitted to hospital for up to two weeks, to instead be seen and discharged on the same day – with regular follow-up checks at a special clinic as an outpatient.

KGH Consultant Dr Raja Reddy said: “We are delighted. This is recognition of six years of work our team has made in developing the pneumothorax services at Kettering General Hospital for the benefit of our patients. “It recognises the way we have committed to improving the service at every opportunity.”

The respiratory service established the Ambulatory Pneumothorax Service in 2013 and it has been further developed since then. Traditionally hospitals treat this condition - which is an air leak from the lung, causing lung collapse and breathlessness - by admitting the patient to hospital.

Dr Reddy said: “But we developed the service as a way for patients with this condition to have treatment that wouldn't involve overnight stays in hospital.” 

The team have maintained the service and support for their patients during the coronavirus pandemic.

The team gets a £1,000, a commemorative plaque and promotion of their winning project by the RCP.