The HSJ Partnership Awards recognise an outstanding dedication to improving healthcare and effective collaboration with the NHS.
The entry from Vanguard and SWFT – entitled ‘Reducing waiting lists, generating funds, improving lives: establishing a surgical hub’ - was shortlisted from hundreds of entries considered by the judging panel.
The two organisations worked together to create a highly efficient orthopaedic surgical hub, dedicated to elective care patients. With a Vanguard mobile theatre at its core, the SWFT hub has proved to be highly efficient, achieving incredible results.
It has helped to minimise waits for local patients and its creation also enabled the offering of mutual aid, where neighbouring trusts send patients to South Warwickshire University NHS FT (SWFT) for elective procedures.
In its first 12 months, more than 1,000 procedures were performed in the surgical hub, including more than 900 joint replacements, an average of four procedures a day. Mutual aid was provided to four nearby Trusts and over 12 months, the increase in orthopaedic procedures reduced waiting times dramatically and powered SWFT's rise from 18th to 6th best trust for RTT performance.
Other key achievements included:
- Orthopaedics delivered a 30% reduction in length of stay.
- Use of the Vanguard facility maintained the positive contribution made by orthopaedics, and contributed towards SWFT’s financial and operational resilience
- Targets for procedures and contribution were achieved, without increasing the number of elective beds.
- Referrals increased by 10%, including out of area referrals because of SWFT's shorter waiting times.
- Theatre staffing improved as trainees completed courses, facilitating two extra general surgery sessions, and supporting additional dedicated paediatric lists and obstetrics sessions.
- Day case rates increased four-fold compared with 2019.
Chief Executive at Vanguard Healthcare Solutions Chris Blackwell-Frost said: “We are delighted to be shortlisted for Best Elective Care Recovery Initiative at the prestigious HSJ Partnership Awards 2025. It will be a huge boost for our dedicated and hard-working team.
“We pride ourselves on being positive and effective partners of our colleagues at the NHS in helping them deliver the very best and most effective patient care, and in assisting them add capacity, drive down waiting times and deliver essential procedures. This nomination is testament to the power of collaborative working and we’re incredibly proud to be recognised in this way.”
The selected winners will be announced during the awards ceremony at Evolution London on 20 March 2025.
The 2025 awards judging panel was made up of a diverse range of highly influential and respected figures within the healthcare community, including; May Mengyu Li, Director of Efficiency, NHS England, Janos Suto, Deputy Director, Urgent and Emergency Care Analysis and Performance, DHSC, Amanda Pleavin, Managing Director, East of England Cancer Alliance, Jacqui Bunce, Programme Director – Strategic Partnerships, Planning and Estates, Lincolnshire ICS, Caroline Taylor, Chair, National Association of Primary Care, and Alan Duffell, Group Chief People Officer, The Royal Wolverhampton Trust & Walsall Healthcare Trust.
Click here to see the full list of nominees for the 2025 HSJ Partnership Awards.