18.04.23 – Nominations for the ICB, Pothole Repair Programme in Staffordshire.
Written by Hitmix Local News on 15 April 2023
The Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent Integrated Care Board (SSOT ICB), which coordinates care across GPs, hospitals and local councils in the county, has been nominated for five national awards … four at the HSJ Digital Awards 2023 and two nominations in the same category at the ‘Make a Difference Awards 2023’.
The Care Boards use of digital systems to better support patients is being recognised, along with its commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion.
Dr Paul Edmondson-Jones MBE, the Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent Chief Medical Officer, said: “Digital systems that doctors, nurses and therapists use when treating patients may go unnoticed, but they are vital for providing high quality care. It is also essential to address health inequalities in society by shaping our services to be accessible for everyone, both as colleagues and patients, regardless of ethnicity, disability, age, religion, sexuality and postcode.
“We are delighted to see our teams’ hard work on these priorities rewarded and celebrated in this way. We wish all of them the very best of luck, knowing they are already winners for the difference they are making to our patients, staff and communities.”
SSOT ICB’s shortlisted projects include a virtual work experience programme to address staff capacity issues, a cloud-based MedOptimise tool to improve medicines management and an artificial intelligence-guided programme that has reduced health inequalities and prevented 34% of A&E attendances.
An ‘Inclusion School’ offering interactive workshops to health and care staff about different groups in society has been specifically nominated for a Make a Difference Award, along with SSOT ICB’s larger inclusive programme giving all staff a voice shortlisted in the same category.
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Highways crews in Staffordshire are stepping up their pothole repair programme to fix weather-related defects across the county.
‘The spring blitz’ is being supported by additional investment into maintenance. A total of £5 million will be invested in road repairs, patching and fixing minor drainage issues.
Added to this, patching will take place ahead of surface dressing to more than 1.5 million square metres of road across the county.
Staffordshire County Council Deputy Leader Philip White said: “As we come out of the winter months and into spring, this is the time our highway maintenance and repair programmes are able to step up.
“Maintaining and improving Staffordshire’s highways is very challenging, especially in light of rising costs and increasing road usage. Good roads are important to everyone, and potholes at this time of year can be a frustrating problem for motorists. This is why we are pulling out all the stops to repair as many defects as possible, get our roads into a better condition, and create smoother journeys for everyone.”
Defects can be reported via www.staffordshire.gov.uk/ReportIt or the MyStaffs app.
