Swansea Bay Healthcare Innovations Honoured with Prestigious Bevan Awards at Senedd Showcase
Two groundbreaking healthcare projects from Swansea Bay have been celebrated at a prestigious showcase event held at The Senedd in Cardiff Bay, where they received major recognition through the Bevan Exemplar Programme awards. The distinguished ceremony highlighted exceptional innovations transforming patient care delivery across Wales, with Swansea Bay professionals taking centre stage for their pioneering work.
Transforming Orthopaedic Care Through Digital Innovation
The Orthopaedic Waiting List Initiative, known as OWLi, represents a significant digital advancement in patient care preparation. This innovative platform focuses on comprehensive health screening for patients and seamlessly connects them with waiting list optimisation services to ensure they are thoroughly prepared for upcoming surgical procedures. Chris Lambert, Swansea Bay's prehabilitation allied health professional lead, was honoured with the Dr Daryl Harris Award for his instrumental role in developing this transformative system.
"The OWLi platform has already supported more than 5,000 orthopaedic patients within the Swansea Bay region," explained Lambert. "It provides essential health screening and directs those requiring additional assistance to appropriate optimisation services that align with this innovative approach to healthcare delivery. This methodology makes more effective use of waiting list periods by actively helping patients prepare physically and mentally for their surgery or treatment."
Revolutionising Surgical Care for Older Patients
The Perioperative Care of Older People programme, abbreviated as POPS, represents another award-winning initiative that is fundamentally reshaping elective surgical care for elderly patients throughout Wales. This clinically led innovation emerged from a productive collaboration between Cardiff and Vale University Health Board and Swansea Bay University Health Board, demonstrating the power of cross-institutional cooperation in healthcare advancement.
Dr Karina James, a consultant geriatrician from Swansea Bay who collaborated with Cardiff and Vale colleagues Dr Nia Humphrey and Dr Margaret Coakley, received the distinguished Professor Sir Mansel Aylward Award for Outstanding Innovation for their collective work on the POPS programme. "POPS serves as a powerful demonstration of what can be accomplished through genuine collaboration," stated Dr James. "This initiative brings together multiple medical specialties and hospital teams to fundamentally redesign care around the specific needs of older patients. The programme has delivered measurable improvements in patient safety and clinical outcomes, significantly reduced procedure cancellations, and demonstrated substantial financial benefits for the healthcare system."
Additional Recognition for Pharmaceutical Innovation
The showcase event also highlighted a third noteworthy project led by Morriston Hospital pharmacists Gareth Chapple and Joshua Lau, who presented their work demonstrating the substantial value of embedding a dedicated prescribing pharmacist within cardiology departments. Joshua Lau expressed his honour at sharing their achievements, noting that "having a dedicated pharmacist as an integral part of the post-take ward round meant our patients enjoyed greater access to a team member solely focused on their medication management. By positioning the right expertise in the right place at precisely the right time, we've delivered safer patient care, improved clinical workflow, and better value for the healthcare system. Patients now leave hospital with appropriate medications at correct dosages for clearly defined medical reasons."
Celebrating Healthcare Excellence and Innovation
The Bevan Exemplar Programme, which facilitated these awards, provides comprehensive training and mentorship opportunities designed to empower frontline healthcare staff and medical specialists to transform services from within their organisations. This approach aims to create positive impacts on patient care experiences, clinical outcomes, and overall healthcare delivery standards across Wales.
Deputy executive medical director Raj Krishnan extended heartfelt congratulations to all award recipients, including Dr Karina James, Dr Nia Humphrey, Dr Margaret Coakley, Chris Lambert, Gareth Chapple, Joshua Lau, and Dr Catherine Cromey for their exceptional achievements. "Your innovation and dedication are fundamentally transforming care for our patients and strengthening healthcare services throughout Wales," Krishnan remarked. "Each of you should feel immensely proud of your contributions to advancing medical care and improving patient outcomes across our nation."
