St George's Hospital breast cancer service team win award (From Wandsworth Guardian)
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St George's Hospital breast cancer service team win award
12:30pm Sunday 20th May 2012 in News
The hospital's breast cancer service team won the award
The breast cancer service team at St George's Hospital have won an NHS Improvement award.
The team were given the national award for reducting the amount of time patients spent in hosptial following surgery.
In January 2011, the team introduced a new 23-hour discharge model for breast cancer patients, which has resulted in a remarkable improvement in the length of stay figures.
Eighty-three percent of patients are discharged in two days or less, previously, patients needed to stay up to five days in hosptial.
Dibyesh Banerjee, consultant oncoplastic breast suregon said: "Most of our patients now stay in hospital for just a single night, with some being safely discharged on the same day as their surgery.
"When we introduced the model we had initially aimed for a target of 70 per cent of discharges within two days.
"However, we have achieved a far better result by streamlining care pathways and introducing a nurse-led discharge service.
"This means that patients can now be discharged efficiently and safely seven days a week, improving their experience and aiding their recovery.
"This award is well deserved and a testament to the hard work of the team."
