Spire Norwich Hospital awarded VTE Exemplar Centre status

Spire Norwich Hospital is delighted to announce being awarded the status of ‘VTE Exemplar Centre’ for their ongoing commitment to Venous Thromboembolism (VTE) prevention.

The National VTE Exemplar Centre Network was established in 2007 by the Department of Health with the aim of using network leadership to reduce avoidable death, disability and chronic ill-health from hospital-associated VTE. VTE is a serious and preventable condition that occurs when a blood clot forms in a vein. The risk of developing VTE is highest after surgery, injury or during periods of inflammation and infection.

Spire Norwich Hospital's journey to achieving this status started back in 2010 when two new VTE lead nurses - Doreen Ireland and Naomi Mills - took on the role of ensuring the hospital's approach to prevention of VTE was aligned to national best practice guidance: to reduce the amount of patients developing VTE whilst in hospital.

And 12 years on, Spire Norwich Hospital has a full multidisciplinary approach to VTE prevention. Colleagues in Pre-operative Assessment, Pharmacy, Physio, Imaging, Theatres, Outpatients, Wards and Clinical Governance, along with our Resident Medical Officers and Consultants have all contributed to the success in achieving this status which acknowledges the hospital's existing track record of excellence in VTE prevention and care.

Louise Sokalsky, Director of Clinical Services at Spire Norwich Hospital, said: "We would like to take this opportunity to thank Doreen and Naomi for their dedication and commitment to patient safety, demonstrated through teaching, clinical audit, incident investigation and sharing best practice over a number of years, culminating in achieving VTE Exemplar Status. We will continue to develop our pathways of care for prevention, diagnosis and management of venous thromboembolism and are delighted to be part of the exemplar network.

We want to thank our team here at Spire Norwich Hospital who have been working hard on this project in order to ensure the continued safety of our patients."

Currently there are only 38 exemplar centres across the UK. Spire Norwich Hospital is proud to have achieved King's College’s strict criteria, including work taken to promote awareness, education, prevention and compliance - involving staff, patients and our Consultant colleagues.