Sunderland GP Alliance (SGPA) is celebrating a hat-trick after being named as finalists for three national awards.  

The Alliance, alongside Sunderland’s Primary Care Networks (PCNs), has been shortlisted for two prestigious HSJ Awards for its work on the Primary Care Medicines Discharge Hub. The awards and categories are:  

  • HSJ Patient Safety Awards – Primary Care Initiative of the Year
  • HSJ Awards – Medicines, Pharmacy and Prescribing Initiative of the Year

The Medicines Discharge Hub is a one-stop-shop for patients who have been discharged from hospital with new or changed medications. 

The service ensures that any medication that a patient’s GP has prescribed, is the same as what was given to them in hospital or care setting. This lowers medication errors and ensures that patients get the correct and appropriate medicine after their hospital discharge. 

It has helped save GP practices precious time and money. It has also reduced errors by working in closer partnership with local community pharmacies. 

The HSJ Awards are one of the most prestigious accolades of healthcare service excellence in the UK. The awards shine a light on outstanding efforts and achievements across healthcare. As well as driving improvements in culture and quality.

SGPA has also been named as a finalist in the Academic Health Sciences Network Innovate Awards for its work on Sunderland Clinical Support Information (Sunderland CSI). Which has recently been expanded to support GPs in the North of our region. 

Sunderland CSI is useful a tool for staff who work in primary care. It can be used to find up-to-date clinical pathway information, service information, patient leaflets and local contacts.

The Alliance was shortlisted in the Innovative Health System of the Year category. These awards celebrate and recognise and reward those who are creating a culture of innovation in health and care.

Jon Twelves, Chief Executive at Sunderland GP Alliance, said: “I am extremely proud of the work that has been undertaken on both of these projects and I would like to say congratulations to everyone involved. They thoroughly deserve this recognition.”

“These awards are a testament to the dedication of our teams to provide even better care to our patients.”

The awards ceremonies will take place over the next few months: