The PHG Foundation has won the 2009 ERBI NHS Partnership Award for its report on inherited cardiovascular conditions that can cause sudden death in seemingly healthy young people.
The PHG Foundation project showed how the latest knowledge could be fast-tracked in order to provide improved and accessible care for patients and families.
Carol Lyon, operations director for the PHG Foundation, said: 'In the last few years our knowledge of the genetic basis of certain diseases has led to the development of new genetic tests that not only aid diagnosis but also inform preventative care for patients and their families.
'We have also seen new developments in electrophysiology, echocardiography and imaging.
'We saw the potential for using these technologies in the treatment of inherited cardiac conditions, which affect 340,000 people in the UK.
'Outside a very few specialist centres, people with heart problems are traditionally cared for by cardiovascular specialists.
'Our recommendation is that a multi-disciplinary team is required.
'Another area of concern is the support for other family members after the loss of a child.
'The coroner is unable to retain tissue for further analysis and this means that valuable information that could be used to protect siblings is destroyed.' The Department of Health Heart Team has been enthusiastic about the issues raised by the PHG Foundation and Lyon is concerned to see that, in the face of difficult public-spending conditions, progress is maintained in implementing the lifesaving recommendations.
Other short-listed projects were: Patients Know Best, which launched a pilot-trial of a patient-focused social network.
The secure system is the only one authorised by the NHS and it will allow patients with chronic conditions to share information with carers, clinicians and other support staff.
It could potentially be life saving, as it will enable rapid access to information in the event of an emergency.
The pilot is being carried out at Addenbrooke's hospital and promises more holistic care, as it lets specialists gain access to all relevant information, providing a more complete picture of a person's health and wellbeing.
Hope Enterprises has developed software that helps Norfolk and Norwich University Hospitals to forecast bed demand for a fortnight and compare this with the available beds.
It will allow analysis at a ward, division and hospital level to allow better planning and allocation of resources.
Hope has entered a partnership with NNUH to promote the software to other trusts.
