Vigilance can report that a military medical team from Germany have been honoured in the Military and Civilian Health Partnership Awards (MCHPA) for developing an innovative system to manage and track hospital referrals among the military population.
The awards are held annually and this year attracted more than 100 nominations from military and civilian medics across the country.
According to a source at the MoD the competition is open to military and civilian personnel who provide health and social care to the Armed Forces, their families and veterans. It recognises and strengthens the partnership between Britain’s military and civilian health care workers and provides the opportunity to acknowledge and celebrate the many examples of high quality care.
The team from British Forces Germany Health Services in Hohne was recognised twice for their innovative work in providing healthcare for the Armed Forces, their families and veterans.
Vigilance’s Defence Team gathered that they picked up the Innovation and Service Development award where the team developed a ‘Referrals Management System’, to improve there interface with the relatively transient population. All potential referrals are discussed at a weekly complex case meeting, to enable peer review and clinical advice to be shared.
The doctors involved have found it incredibly useful, and it has resulted in the best possible medical management of patients. In the project’s first 3 months, the system has demonstrated a 27.5% decrease in referrals to secondary healthcare compared to the same period last year.
Minister for Defence Personnel, Welfare and Veterans, Rt Hon Andrew Robathan, said: “Thanks to the excellence of our people working in partnership, the quality of care available to our Armed Forces – from emergency life saving procedures on operations to primary care at home and overseas – is quite remarkable. These awards are about honouring the best of the best, people who, often in the most demanding of circumstances, are delivering exceptional healthcare.”