ROYAL Surrey Hospital in Guildford has been recognised for providing a safe environment for patients and for its efforts to improve patient care and experience.

The trust has been shortlisted for both the patient safety and the quality improvement prizes at the annual CHKS Top Hospitals Awards.

The patient safety accolade is a national award for outstanding performance in providing a safe hospital environment for patients and is judged against a range of indicators, including hospital-acquired infections and deaths.

It says it has also introduced a number of new processes to improve infection control and ensure the best outcomes for all its patients.

Royal Surrey faces stiff competition for the accolade from four other NHS trusts: Airedale NHS Foundation Trust, Northampton General Hospital NHS Trust, Northern Health and Social Care Trust and Southern Health and Social Care Trust.

St Luke’s radiotherapy service was also shortlisted for the quality improvement category, which recognises developments in patient care and experience, as well as staff welfare, safety and morale.

The trust’s submission for this award highlighted the services’ recent introduction of the patient support and experience team, who offer patients a more holistic approach to their care.

Recognition was also given to a proactive culture for training and developing the clinical skills of the radiotherapy staff, acknowledging the impact of skilled motivated staff on quality patient care.

Royal Surrey has been shortlisted for this award alongside Hospital Magalhaes Lemos, in Portugal, and the New Victoria Hospital, in Kingston-Upon-Thames, Surrey.

The winners of both prizes will be announced during a special ceremony at London’s Guildhall, on May 10.

Principal Macmillan radiographer, Fiona McDowell said: “We are delighted to have been shortlisted for the quality improvement award, which recognises our continuous commitment to improve the service that we offer in St Luke’s radiotherapy.

“Our patients are at the very centre of everything that we do and we strive to deliver a very high standard of care every day, for every patient.

“We do this by listening and learning from their experiences and where necessary making changes.”

RSCH chief executive Peter Dunt said: “I am proud that the commitment and dedication of Royal Surrey as a whole and St Luke’s radiotherapy services has been recognised by CHKS.

This is testament to everyone’s hard work and we will have our fingers crossed for when the winners are announced in May.”

CHKS provides healthcare data intelligence and quality improvement services to the NHS and independent healthcare sector.

For more information on its services visit www.chks.co.uk