THE Northern Devon Healthcare NHS Trust is hoping to follow up its win at the national HSJ Value in Healthcare Awards in 2014 with more success in the 2015 event.

A year after the Trust’s stroke therapy team tasted victory, the organisation has been shortlisted five times ahead of the 2015 awards ceremony this month.

The awards, led by flagship publication the Health Service Journal, recognise and reward outstanding efficiency and improvement by the NHS.

With NHS organisations required to make significant year-on-year savings and Devon highlighted as one of 11 “distressed health economies” in the country, it is more important than ever for the Trust to find efficiencies across its acute, community and specialist services.

The Trust has introduced a number of projects and services in recent years aimed at delivering safe, high-quality care and a range of other benefits, while also saving money for the NHS.

Five of these have been named as finalists in the HSJ awards, beating off competition from a record total of 532 entries.

Three relate to the Trust’s community services, including two projects based in Exeter.

• The Exeter Community Nursing Centre, launched in April 2014, supports people who were previously visited in their own home by a community nurse but are mobile enough to access treatment locally at a time of their convenience. This has helped to free up time for nurses to care for patients who are less mobile and with more complex needs in their own home, leading to efficiency savings of around £50,000 in the first year.

• The Exeter cluster pharmacy team works to empower frail elderly patients to manage their own medicines safely at home, reducing risks and hospital admissions and achieving cost savings of over £250,000 a year.

• The North Devon District Hospital orthopaedic team launched an enhanced recovery programme in 2011, which has led to a dramatic reduction in the average length of stay for patients undergoing hip or knee replacements as well as significant cost savings for the Trust.

• ComPAS, the Trust’s community patient administration system, provides detailed data which helps to inform contract negotiations, workforce planning, operational delivery and communications, bringing significant improvements in productivity and estimated savings of £3.4million through reduced hospital admissions.

• STAR, an online learning management system where Trust staff can access, complete and track all their mandatory and optional training from any internet-enabled device, has brought significant benefits since its launch in 2013, including £1million savings in training costs for patient-facing staff.

The five shortlisted teams have presented their entries to an expert judging panel in London and will find out if they have won at the awards ceremony at the Grosvenor House Hotel in the capital on Tuesday 22 September.

Dr Alison Diamond, chief executive, said: “To have five teams shortlisted for these prestigious awards is fantastic news for the Trust and is testament to the hard work of our staff to improve care for patients while also providing value for money for the taxpayer.

“It is always satisfying to be recognised nationally as a leader in the field.”

The success of two of the five projects has been showcased elsewhere.

ComPAS was shortlisted last year and has recently been named as a finalist in the EHI Awards, which celebrates the best IT projects in healthcare.

Trust representatives came through a judging event at the King Power Stadium in Leicester in July and will attend the awards gala dinner at the Park Plaza Westminster Bridge in London on Thursday 1 October.

The ongoing success of STAR helped the Trust and partner company Kallidus take victory at the E-Learning Awards in London last year, beating off competition from Sony Europe, Tesco Bank and Jurys Inn.