Congratulations to our Stroke Team, who have won the Go See Award for demonstrating outstanding collaboration and continuous improvement by learning from high-performing stroke centres. Their work standardised data and challenged existing pathways, significantly improving stroke admissions within 4 hours from below 40% to consistently over 60%. They have improved service design, collaboration and patient outcomes.

Collecting the award with some of the team, Matron, Sarah Williams, said: "We knew we had to do something different. We had tried and implemented lots of things and then ran out of ideas. So we went to see what everyone else was doing, we took the best bits and we smashed it, team. Well done, I’m really really proud of you."

Here's a little more from their nomination:

They proactively undertook in‑person Go See visits to established and high-performing stroke units at Salford Royal Hospital, North Cumbria Hospital, and  the Mid Yorkshire Teaching Trust. Rather than relying on second-hand information, policies, or assumptions about best practice, the team immersed themselves directly within frontline services to observe real-time patient flow, workforce models, clinical decision-making, and operational pressures.

Nationally, the average 4‑hour stroke admission rate is 47.9%. CHFT is now achieving 62.4%. This is a remarkable improvement from where we were just one year ago. This upward trajectory is a direct reflection of the team’s dedication, innovation, and relentless focus on improving outcomes for every patient.

Congratulations also to our other finalists: Lead for Quality Improvement Charlotte Anderson, the Theatre Equipment and Standardisation Team, Clinical Nurse Educators Kim Sisson-Pell and Nicola Cocking, and Specialist Nurse Lisa Jones.