Posted: Tue 25th Apr 2017

Welsh Ambulance Service App For Patients With Additional Communication Needs Nominated For Two Awards

Wrexham.com for people living in or visiting the Wrexham area
This article is old - Published: Tuesday, Apr 25th, 2017

A Welsh Ambulance Service app which helps frontline staff to interact with patients who have additional communication needs has been nominated for two different awards.

The Pre Hospital Communication Guide was launched in December 2016 to assist people who are deaf, hard of hearing, don’t speak English as their first language, have learning difficulties, or whose illness or injury affects their communication.

Since then it has been downloaded almost 2,000 times and uses images and supporting text to find out important information about patients, such as their symptoms.

It can also identify if they use a specific communication method or which language they speak.

The bilingual app has now been shortlisted for the finals of both the Patient Safety Awards and the Excellence Wales Awards.

The Patient Safety Awards recognise UK organisations striving to improve patient safety in healthcare, while the Action on Hearing Loss Excellence Wales Awards celebrate those going above and beyond to be accessible to people in Wales who are deaf or have hearing loss.

Claire Bevan, the Welsh Ambulance Service’s Director of Quality, Safety and Patient Experience, said: “We are delighted that this positive step forward in communicating with our patients has been recognised with nominations at two prestigious awards events.

“It’s really encouraging to see that the app is being so well used by our staff, volunteers and patients, and we are now starting to see the benefits.

“As a Trust it’s important that we recognise the communication needs of each individual and are able to find out those crucial details about them, such as what symptoms they’re experiencing and their medical history.

“This app provides a simple and timely way to discover that information and we’re looking forward to the awards ceremonies.”

Pioneered by the Trust’s Patient Experience and Community Involvement Team, the app is based on a small booklet which was originally developed by The Clear Communication People Ltd and The London Ambulance Service in 2011.

It is available for staff and members of the public to download on devices using the iOS, Android and Blackberry systems.

For iOS search your app store for ‘PreHospApp’, for Android search ‘pre hospital app’ and on Blackberry search for ‘Pre-Hospital Communication App’.

The Trust will find out if it has won in the Information Technology to Improve Patient Safety category at the Patient Safety Awards ceremony in Manchester on July 4th 2017

Meanwhile, the Excellence Wales Awards 2017 take place in Cardiff on May 5th, where the app has been nominated for the Excellence in Health award.

You can also vote for the app to win the overall People’s Choice award at the ceremony, here.



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