Lancashire and South Cumbria patient safety initiative in the running for top industry award
Date posted: 26th June 2025
An NHS project to improve intravenous drug preparation in critical care has been shortlisted for a major industry award.
Lancashire and South Cumbria Critical Care and Major Trauma Specialised Services Clinical Network has been named as a finalist at the HSJ Patient Safety Awards 2025, in the category Improving Medicines Safety.
Over the past four years, the network has been developing monographs – guides that describe the uses, doses, safety issues, and other considerations involved in the use of a drug – which have been implemented and utilised in adult critical care wards in Lancashire and South Cumbria.
Shaun Morgan is the project lead, lead pharmacist for the network and the critical care pharmacist at East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust. He said: “The Lancashire and South Cumbria Critical Care system is committed to an effective and efficient approach to collaborative working.
“Our vision is to deliver patient-centred, safe, efficient, effective, and resilient critical care to patients. To be recognised by the HSJ Awards is a testament to the hard work members of the team have put into this project over the last four years and continue to put into this project.”
The network, a collaboration between Blackpool Teaching Hospitals, East Lancashire Hospitals, Lancashire Teaching Hospitals and University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay, implemented a Critical Care Improvement Programme (CCIP) in 2021, which focused on a collaborative approach to develop the catalogue of Critical Care Drug Monographs and improve patient safety with medication.
These ensure standardised and safe intravenous drug preparation across the region.
The shortlisting is recognition of its outstanding commitment to improving patient safety and driving innovation in healthcare.
Organised by the Health Service Journal (HSJ), the Patient Safety Awards celebrate the teams and individuals going above and beyond to protect patients from harm, reduce risks, and embed a culture of safety across the UK healthcare sector.
Hospital trusts in Lancashire and South Cumbria have also been shortlisted in a number of categories, with Blackpool Teaching Hospitals being named as a finalist in the Deteriorating Patients and Rapid Response Initiative of the Year, Developing a Positive Safety Culture Award and Patient Involvement in Safety Award categories, with East Lancashire Hospitals shortlisted for the Improving Health Outcomes for Minority Ethnic Communities Award and Lancashire and South Cumbria Foundation Trust in the running for Learning Disabilities Initiative of the Year.
Winners will be announced at a ceremony in Manchester on 15 September.
For more information about the HSJ Patient Safety Awards, visit: https://awards.patientsafetycongress.co.uk