Evelina London Patch Children’s Nursing Team wins prestigious award for reducing inequalities

The Evelina London Patch Children’s Community Nursing (CCN) team has triumphed at the HSJ Awards 2024, winning the coveted Reducing Inequalities and Improving Outcomes for Children and Young People Award.

The HSJ Awards celebrate outstanding achievements across the UK healthcare system, and this year’s recognition shines a spotlight on the innovative work of the Patch CCN team in Lambeth and Southwark. The team provides early intervention and holistic care for children and young people with asthma, eczema, and constipation.

Their proactive approach has significantly improved outcomes for local children. For example, 90% of patients with uncontrolled asthma seen by the service achieve better symptom management. Six months after engaging with the service, patients are:

• 45% less likely to visit their GP.
• 54% less likely to require hospital admission.
• 18% less likely to attend A&E.

The Patch service was created collaboratively with families, clinicians, and researchers to enhance care for children through the Children and Young People’s Health Partnership (CYPHP). Since its establishment in 2016, the Patch team has provided tailored care to over 4,000 children and supported 10,000 families with self-management guidance.

This joint-funded initiative supports the wider Lambeth Together partnership by reducing pressure on GPs and acute hospital services, while ensuring children receive care in their communities from a dedicated team.

Holistic and collaborative care

Lyncia Downer, Patch team leader, highlighted the team’s unique approach: “We have worked across multiple disciplines to make a meaningful difference to local children and young people. By embracing a holistic approach, we can provide tailored care to each child and their family. This award highlights the positive impact of our work on children with asthma, and I hope it inspires other services to consider adopting a similar method.

“On a personal note, I am deeply grateful for this service, as it would have made a massive difference for my own child had it been available at the time. I am immensely thankful to our team for their hard work, commitment, and dedication to making this vision a reality.”

Recognised for reducing inequalities

Janet Powell, director of nursing at Evelina London, celebrated the team’s achievement: “I’m so proud that the Patch team has received this prestigious award for their work helping children and young people control their asthma. One of our main priorities at Evelina London is to proactively prevent ill health and reduce health inequalities. The team is doing essential work to improve access and outcomes for young patients in our local areas.”

This award highlights how collaborative efforts like the Patch service can drive real change, reduce health inequalities, and improve outcomes for children across Lambeth and Southwark.

Importance of early intervention and integrated care

Simon Boote, Director for the Lambeth Together Children and Young People’s Alliance added: “We’re delighted to see the Evelina London Patch Children’s Nursing Team recognised for their outstanding work in improving outcomes for children and young people. Their proactive and holistic model of care has been an inspiring example, often highlighted within the Lambeth Together Children and Young Person Alliance. This achievement underscores the importance of early intervention and integrated care, and we look forward to supporting the wider adoption of such impactful approaches. Congratulations to the team on this well-deserved award.”

Background information

The Children and Young People’s Health Partnership was funded by Guy’s & St Thomas’ Charity, and was comprised of:

• Evelina London, as part of Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust
• King’s College Hospital
• King’s College London
• Lambeth Together
• Partnership Southwark
• South London and Maudsley
• Lambeth and Southwark councils
• The three GP Federations in Lambeth and Southwark (Lambeth Healthcare, Quay Health Solutions and Improving Health Limited)

A Lambeth Together Priority

This initiative reflects Lambeth Together’s commitment to working across organisations to make services more joined-up and accessible. By providing care in the right setting, as early as possible, we aim to improve health outcomes and support better health for our population for years to come. Find out more about our work in Our Health, Our Lambeth Lambeth Together health and care plan 2023-28.