The final of the CW+ Special Funding Call 2022 took place today, and the winner was announced as Eamon O’Reilly with his proposal for the ‘Haematology/Oncology Day Unit’, which involves enhancing the Unit at West Middlesex University Hospital with digital screen intervention and artworks to improve patient experience.

This special call, supported by the Kusuma Trust, forms part of the larger CW+ Grants programme, and offers Nurses, Midwives and Allied Health Professionals at the Trust grants of up to £10,000 to fund projects that will deliver better quality care while focusing on improving the patient experience. The call culminated in a Dragons’ Style Den event to determine projects funded.

Kim Watts and Marco Ceppi were announced as the runners up, with their proposal ‘Improving team communication through human factors’, which involves integrating the assessment of non-tech skills into simulation and human factors-based team training to build safer healthcare teams.

All of the finalists will work with CW+ to further explore their projects including:

• Emma Bowen – ‘CardMedic Trial’, which proposes using an app to reduce health inequalities through improving communication between healthcare staff and patients.
• Olayinka Olaonipekun – ‘An HIV Adherence Clinic Pilot’, the first of its kind in the UK – introducing a low cost, nurse led adherence clinic for HIV care and management of HIV medication.
• Kim Watts and Matthew Hancock – ‘Improving Basic Life Support (BLS) Training and Compliance using new BLS training aids and QCPR’, which involves improving BLS equipment across the Trust, using new technology for BLS training to improve compliance and standards.

The five finalists presented their original ideas to a judging panel of leading experts including:

• Gubby Ayida – Medical Director, Hillingdon Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
• Robert Bleasdale – Chief Nurse, Chelsea and Westminster Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
• Jeremy Nugent – Head of Therapies, Chelsea and Westminster Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
• Chris Chaney – Chief Executive, CW+

For more information on the CW+ Grants programme click here.