A hospital's emergency department team has been given a national award for ways it has been responding to treat patients during the Covid pandemic.

Staff at Medway Maritime Hospital in Gillingham developed a new emergency care access model to ensure patients were seen quickly by the right person first time around.

The department's scheme, called Get It Right First Time, has been developed over the past five years but had to be specially adapted when the pandemic hit and forced changes in the way staff had to work.

Supported by emergency consultants, the initiative has come up with innovative ways of working so that patients needs are addressed first time, by the right person and with the right skills within the multidisciplinary team.

The team has been awarded the acute service redesign initiative award at the HSJ (Health Service Journal) Value Awards.

Cliff Evans, ED consultant nurse, said: “Our team is so pleased to have won this prestigious award and it really does mean a huge amount to everyone involved to have been formally recognised in this way, particularly against the backdrop of the recent difficulties we’ve all faced.

"We are honoured that the success of our nursing workforce strategy has again been recognised nationally and we’re confident that the impact of this award will help to create an enduring legacy across our organisation, as we look to the future.

"It really does mean a huge amount to everyone involved to have been formally recognised in this way..."

"We are also proud that Medway’s educational programmes continue to be accessed by emergency nurses across Kent, meaning our hospital is recognised as a centre of excellence for ED nursing development.’’

Dr George Findlay, Medway NHS Trust chief executive, added: “I am incredibly proud of our ED colleagues and I congratulate everyone at Medway who has been involved in making this project a success.

"To win a national award of this calibre is such well-deserved, public recognition for all the improvements that our ED team has made, leading to improved outcomes for our patients.’’

Deputy editor of the Health Service Journal, Dave West, said: “The entrants this year have been of the very best quality and each of the winners of the HSJ Value Awards have been chosen based on their outstanding commitment to clinical excellence and operational improvements across healthcare.

"We all know and appreciate what an incredibly tough and testing time this has been for so many of our colleagues working in the healthcare industry – and that’s what makes it such an honour to be celebrating projects of such high standards and significance.’’

To keep up-to-date with all the latest developments with your local hospitals and other health stories, click here.

Read more: All the latest news from Medway