Hand therapy team in HSJ Award finals for improving patient care and cutting carbon emissions

Emma Barker and Lucy Wimmer from the Hand Therapy team

Two therapists from Northampton General Hospital have been shortlisted for a national award for a new way of supporting patients that also cuts carbon emissions.

Hand Therapy Team Leads Emma Baker and Lucy Wimmer are in the finals of the HSJ Awards 2024 in the Towards Net Zero Award category.

Their entry was a proposal around hand therapy – something which patients receive after having an operation on their hands or arms after a soft tissue injury or bone fracture or after having surgery for another reason, such as tendon repair.

They realised that patients sometimes had delays in receiving therapy because of the need to contact patients to set up post-operative appointments and therapy sessions.

So instead they decided to offer patients a hand therapy consultation before they went in for their operation, and set some appointments in advance, so that the patient already knew what to do and expect after their operation.

This enabled patients to start their recuperative exercises without delay speeding up their recovery and reducing the need for multiple follow-up appointments with the resultant extra car journeys and impact on the environment.

Lucy said: “We had the idea for changing the hand therapy pathway and believed it would be a benefit for both our patients and colleagues.

“We carried out a project and studied 10 patients on the normal post-surgery pathway appointment compared to 10 following our idea of a pre-surgery pathway appointment.

“Having a pre-surgery consultation gave us the opportunity to talk to patients about what to expect after having their operation and during their recovery.

“It has reduced patient anxiety, reduced complications, and shortened episodes of care. It also reduced number of appointments needed and journeys to and from the hospital.

“Patients have said having a pre-consultation helped their confidence, enabled them to plan for their rehabilitation, as well as plan for work and family life commitments, and made them feel empowered.

“It also helped them to mentally prepare for the duration and intensity of rehabilitation required after surgery and they were complimentary and supportive of our efforts to become more environmentally friendly.”

The team has now adopted the pre-surgery consultation pathway for all of its plastic surgery trauma patients. Projected across a year (with 132 patients) it is estimated it will save the hospital £88,829 and the environment 22,651 kgCO2e, equivalent to driving 66,896 miles in an average car.

Hand Therapy is delivered in the hospital’s outpatient department and accepts acute referrals from trauma and orthopaedics (T&O) consultants, virtual fracture clinic and plastics consultants.

Competition to get into the HSJ Award finals this year has been intense with more than 1,350 entries resulting in only 234 projects and individuals reaching the final shortlist. https://awards.hsj.co.uk/shortlist-2024

HSJ editor Alastair McLellan, adds; “It always gives me great pleasure to congratulate our finalists at this stage of the judging process and this year is no exception. We acknowledge Northampton General Hospital for being shortlisted in the Towards Net Zero Award.

“We can’t wait to welcome our finalists to the awards ceremony in November and to recognise and applaud such impressive achievements across the sector. “

The NGH entry will now go forward to a judging day with presentations on Friday October 4.

Finalists will then attend an Awards Ceremony on Thursday 21st November, Evolution London, to find out if they have become an overall winner.