Award-winning project for Chief Registrar

A Chief Registrar at Oxford University Hospitals NHS foundation Trust has been recognised with a 'Best Overall Project' award for his work enhancing service pathways and delivering more patient-centred care.

Dr Alex Bunn's project 'Delivering change and leading improvements across the Hospital at Home and Ambulatory Unit' was one of three winners announced by the Royal College of Physicians (RCP).

A key part of the project was the creation and delivery of a realistic Acute Hospital at Home simulation package. Working with the Trust's simulation lab, Alex was able to emulate patients’ homes to create dynamic case scenarios with live actors to train colleagues in different situations.

Working with system-wide stakeholders, Alex also helped review and revise processes and patient pathways across Hospital at Home with the aim to not only increase capacity, but to ensure patients receive even safer and more effective care.

In addition, he has utilised the use of point-of-care ultrasound scans which he and colleagues can take into patients' homes, enabling the team to diagnose respiratory and abdominal conditions more effectively such as pneumonia, pleural effusion and urinary tract obstruction. This allows more care to be delivered at home and recognises when patients may need to have care in hospital instead.

Alex said: "Receiving the RCP Chief Registrar 'Best Overall Project' Award was a fulfilling experience. It was an acknowledgment of the hard work and collective effort put into the projects by my hardworking colleagues in the Acute Hospital at Home and Ambulatory Assessment Unit teams.

"This award highlights the significance of collaboration in reaching our goals, and I am proud and thankful for the unwavering support from my team and mentors. This recognition encourages me to persistently strive for excellence in my work."

Alex was also a finalist for the 'Most Innovative Project' for the same work.

The Chief Registrar role, established by the RCP, provides senior junior doctors opportunities in leadership positions, bridging the gap between the junior doctor workforce and consultant body, while also implementing positive changes to services, workforce, and education and training.

Professor Dan Lasserson, Clinical Lead for the Acute Hospital at Home team, said: "Alex has been instrumental in setting up and delivering key projects for the Hospital at Home service that will improve the quality of our training and allow us to keep improving the quality of our care.

"The Trust's investment in the Chief Registrar Programme develops future healthcare leaders and we look forward to continuing our working with Alex so that we can keep delivering benefits to our patients."

• The Acute Hospital at Home delivers an alternative to hospital admission, providing diagnostics and treatment to patients within their own homes. This allows staff to deliver acute and complex medical care to patients across Oxfordshire by providing a range of services such as blood tests, ultrasound scans, and intravenous treatments.
• The team works closely with the Ambulatory Assessment Unit (AAU), based at the John Radcliffe Hospital, which provides rapid multi-disciplinary assessments, diagnostics, treatment, and speciality reviews, without the need for an overnight stay.