CAAW26 Patient Safety award winners announced

25 Jun 2026

We are delighted to share that the winners of the Patient Safety category of the Excellence in Clinical Audit Awards 2026, which are part of Clinical Audit Awareness Week, have been announced!

This award recognises clinical audits and evidence-informed improvement projects that have a primary focus on improving patient safety. Many congratulations to:

WINNER: Dermatology Department, Sandwell and West Birmingham NHS Trust

This project was designed to monitor skin cancer Multidisciplinary Team (MDT) outcome compliance using audit data, since failure to implement MDT decisions pose significant patient safety risks. The first cycle demonstrated 74% compliance, which was lower than before the Covid-19 pandemic; so multiple interventions were introduced. A re-audit, six months later, demonstrated improved compliance with MDT outcomes up to 92%.

RUNNER-UP: Rehabilitation Unit, Clayponds Hospital, West London NHS Trust

Breaking the Fall was developed to reduce harm from inpatient falls, since variation in practice and limited reliability of preventative interventions were a significant patient safety concern. By taking a robust, data-driven improvement approach using clinical audit principles and quality improvement methodology, the team delivered safer care through system redesign, staff engagement, and continuous learning.

Who are the other winners?

This award is one of five main, and two additional commendation, categories in this year’s Excellence in Clinical Audit Awards. The winners are announced at a series of daily online events from 22-26 June 2026, which are run alongside a series of themed webinars, aligned to the award categories.

Register NOW: Find out more about, and register for, HQIP’s free online events, to find out about all the winners of the Excellence in Clinical Audit Awards and hear more about the Clinical Audit Awareness Week topics:

Friday 26 June, 10am-12pm: Data-Informed Improvement (morning webinar) REGISTER HERE
Friday 26 June, 1-3pm: Data-Informed Improvement (afternoon webinar) – with Evidence into Practice award announcement REGISTER HERE.

All award winners announced so far can be found here: Excellence in Clinical Audit Awards.

Clinical Audit Awareness Week 2026

A week-long national campaign that aims to improve and save lives by promoting and celebrating the critical role of clinical audit and data-driven healthcare improvement. Join in the fun by sharing online, using #CAAW26!

Find out more: Clinical Audit Awareness Week 2026