University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire trust takes UK IT prize

A project that helps to prevent fatal blood clots in in-patients run by University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire NHS trust (UHCW) has won the public sector project of the year award in the UK IT Industry Awards 2011. The project was one of a handful from the public sector to pick up awards, which are run by BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT, and Computing. It was developed in response to a mandate from the Department of Health and National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence that a venous thromboembolism (VTE) risk assessment should be conducted for a minimum of 90% of adult patients admitted to hospital. UHCW came up with the e-solution for VTE risk assessment, replacing traditional paper forms. This forms part of the trust's existing clinical results report system, and has led to significant improvements in VTE risk assessments, increased patient safety and the hospitals' admission process. David Clarke, chief executive officer of BCS, said: "Our judges were impressed by the project which addressed a pressing challenge, and delivered tangible benefits whilst minimising overheads and resistance to a new process." Medallists in public sector category were Eastbourne borough council for an agile working project and University College London Hospitals for its Unifying Communications at UCLH programme. Public sector organisations also got among the other prizes: HM Revenue and Customs won an award for IT project team of the year; Network Rail won environmental project of the year for its On Train Metering; the South West Grid for Learning Trust won the community project of the year award for 360° Safe; Sheila Hardwicke of Network Rail was named service and support professional of the year; and Andrew J Perkins of the Post Office won the prize for business analyst of the year. This article is published by Guardian Professional. For weekly updates on news, debate and best practice on public sector IT, join the Government Computing Network here.