Publish date: 16 September 2025
Prestigious award win for data-driven project tackling health inequalities
An NHS project which uses data analytics to help identify patients who may miss important diagnostic tests has won a top patient safety award.
Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust’s DNA (did not attend) predictor and navigation pilot won the Advancing Patient Safety with Data and Analytics category at this week’s (Monday, September 15) HSJ Patient Safety Awards.
The collaborative project involved the creation of a predictive risk model. This tool identifies patients who are likely to miss endoscopy appointments due to health inequalities.
Patient calculated to have the greatest risk of missing appointments were then called in advance to discuss and address potential barriers. This could be a lack of information about the procedure, anxiety, or practical issues such as transport.
This work is important because endoscopy appointments are critical in early cancer diagnosis, which is a particular focus area for tackling health inequalities.
Jill Harland, public health consultant at Northumbria Healthcare, who chairs the trust’s inequalities programme board, said: “We are delighted to win this award, not least because it reflects a real team effort and collaborative approach. Our public health team worked with data specialists in our information services team and colleagues from endoscopy and cancer services to deliver this pilot.
“It’s been a very exciting project to work on as it has shown very clearly how we can reduce patients missing important appointments which in turn helps tackle the inequalities that exist in timely cancer diagnosis. Plus, the approach is something that can be replicated beyond endoscopy in other services.”
The project is continuing at the trust, with additional work taking place to use patient engagement and feedback to provide better information about endoscopy appointments and procedures and supporting GPs so they can give patients this information when they make referrals.
Now in their 15th year, the HSJ Patient Safety Awards celebrate teams and organisations that go above and beyond to protect patients and improve safety standards. This year, they received 456 entries, with 216 projects shortlisted, and just 25 winners selected by a panel of expert judges.
Alongside the endoscopy project, Northumbria Healthcare had another 3 projects shortlisted across 4 categories.
HSJ editor Alastair McLellan said: “The HSJ Patient Safety Awards are a vital platform for celebrating the efforts of healthcare staff who continually strive to reduce risk and protect patients.
“This year’s winners have shown remarkable innovation, resilience, and commitment to improving outcomes for patients, and they should be incredibly proud of their achievements.”
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