A HOSPITAL trust is celebrating after being shortlisted for six national awards.

East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust (ELHT) has scooped nominations for more accolades at the Health Service Journal Value in Healthcare Awards than any other care provider.

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The trust is up for awards in five categories which include Managing Long Term Conditions, Obstetrics and Gynaecology and Pharmacy and Medicines Optimisation.

It is also a finalist in the categories of Use of Information Technology and Improving Value in the Care of Frail Older Patients.

Kevin McGee, chief executive, said the nominations would serve as an inspiration to staff do even more.

He said: “This is excellent news and well done to those who have been shortlisted for their hard work.

“We are passionate about improving services for patients and it is enormously pleasing that the high quality of care provided by our staff is recognised by experts as being among the best in England.

“Such recognition inspires us to do even more and I have my fingers crossed for all of the finalists when the awards are presented in May.”

The nominations come after the trust was given a ‘good’ rating by the Care Quality Commission, completing a turnaround after it was placed in ‘special measures’ just over three years ago.

Leading the way for ELHT is the trust’s refer-to-pharmacy initiative which has been shortlisted three times.

The service is the first of its kind in the UK and provides inpatients with an electronic appointment with their community pharmacist after they are discharged from hospital.

The trust’s initiative to improve stillbirth care and decrease avoidable stillbirths has been recognised in the Obstetrics and Gynaecology category.

There is also now a pharmacist based on every ward in Royal Blackburn Hospital and Burnley General Hospital, which has been rewarded with a nomination in the Pharmacy and Medicines Optimisation category.

Russ McLean, chairman of East Lancashire Patients’ Voice, said: “I am really pleased for the trust and for the staff.

“Everyone knows the NHS is under a lot of pressure at the moment and the staff have worked very hard over the last few years to help the trust recover from being in special measures.

“I will be crossing everything in the hope the trust will win one of these awards because it would be so deserved.”

The trust has also reduced inpatient falls by 19 per cent and community patient falls by 36 per cent in the past two years.

This Let’s Eliminate Avoidable Falls team has been rewarded for this by being shortlisted in the Improving Value in the Care of Frail Older Patients category.

The winners will be revealed at the ceremony on May 24.