Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust wins RCoA Anaesthesia and Perioperative Medicine Team of the Year Award

The Royal College of Anaesthetists is proud to announce that the Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust MERIT team has been named the Anaesthesia and Perioperative Medicine Team of the Year at the 2021 BMJ Awards.

The Anaesthesia and Perioperative Medicine Team of the Year award celebrates excellence in the delivery of patient-focused perioperative care from anaesthetists and the multidisciplinary teams they work with. The team at Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, won the 2021 College-sponsored award for its response to the COVID-19 pandemic by forming a scalable MERIT team for the sickest patients using a set and evolving protocol.

This approach included intubating patients, establishing them on a ventilator, inserting central venous and arterial lines, taking blood samples, and ordering investigations. It meant that critical care consultants could be freed up to do ward rounds, review referrals, and talk to families. During what was an incredibly hard and difficult time there were specialised and skilled teams working together positively.

The team cared for between 90 and 100 critically ill COVID-19 patients in both the first and second waves of the pandemic. The average survival rate of 69 per cent was above the national average of 60 per cent. Over the course of the pandemic the MERIT team evolved to take on more responsibility, including performing twice daily proning rounds, doing tracheostomies, and dealing with patient transfers.

Dr Fiona Donald, President of the Royal College of Anaesthetists said:

“The MERIT team at Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust is to be congratulated for their ability to see the need in a chaotic and ever-changing situation. COVID-19 badly hit Gloucestershire and the MERIT team met the challenge by assessing how they could best assist. Being nimble, agile, and evolving roles to suit the needs of the teams and patients being admitted meant that caring for patients in the ITU was broadened out to the creation of a proning team and effective communication with loved ones during a very difficult and hard to navigate period. I extend heartfelt praise for their ingenuity and efforts.

“I would also like to take this opportunity to congratulate the Surgical Enhanced Care Unit, delivered by Croydon Health Services NHS Trust who were also highly commended in this category. It is encouraging to see such formidable patient-orientated work being completed in our specialty.”