Healthcare Inequalities Hero 2025 award announced
4 Jun 2025
Smoking is the single biggest cause of preventable morbidity, mortality and health inequalities in the UK. Guidelines state that inpatients should receive timely Nicotine Replacement Therapy (NRT) to prevent withdrawal symptoms, but feedback and baseline audits revealed a need for improvement. Having generated a driver diagram, the team ran a series of mini ‘Plan, Do, Study, Act’ cycles, including: mandatory electronic documentation of smoking status on admission; a simple, high-dose NRT protocol to facilitate prescribing; and increasing the availability of NRT products on wards. Data demonstrated a 50% increase in the delivery of NRT and, as such, the project is now being used as a model quality improvement.
RUNNER-UP: Families in Mind – Supporting parents in the transition to parenthood (Charlotte Gatehouse); Hampshire and Isle of Wight Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust
This is an innovative integrated specialist health visiting service that delivers evidence based 1:1 and group-based interventions to families who are expecting a baby or have a child under 5 – with the aim of providing improved support to families in the transition to parenthood, and improving parental emotional wellbeing, parenting confidence and early relationships. The team deliver three strands of work: direct services to families, training and support for professionals and collaboration and engagement with the community and wider system.
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