A prestigious Nursing Times Award has been won by a team working at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham.

The project, led by Fran Roberts, Urology Specialist Continence Nurse, and Liesel Thompson, Practice Development Nurse, won The Continence Promotion and Care Award in this year’s national competition.

The judges acknowledged the team’s ‘back to the floor’ approach which looked at the way patient care can be improved through dealing with continence problems during their hospital stay.

More than 1,000 nursing professionals gathered at London’s Hilton Hotel to celebrate and reward the work of individuals.

Fran and Liesel said: “It is a real honour to win the award and we are delighted the project has been recognised. Continence problems can dramatically affect patients’ lives and we are pleased that this work is making a difference.”

Weekly tasks for the team include visiting different clinical areas to undertake product reviews to ensure areas have access to products which meet the needs of specific patients. Trust paperwork is also under constant review, saving valuable time for nursing staff.

They explained: “These visits not only give us a chance to review patients with complex continence problems to ensure their needs are being met but also deliver bedside nurse education in how to manage patients with incontinence more appropriately and effectively.

“This project can be replicated in any Trust and ultimately what it does is raise the profile of the need for good continence care as this links in with so many other priorities in the Trust such as preventing pressure ulcers, reduction in falls and infection and, most importantly, in ensuring patients remain as independent as possible whilst in hospital and that their dignity is maintained as far as possible.

“Additionally, we are taking training to the bedside, which is important in this day and age where nurses find it difficult to leave the clinical area to attend training and education. So we are supporting nursing staff in their own clinical area.”

A record number of entries were received by the award organisers.

Jenni Middleton, editor of Nursing Times said: “During the judging, I met some outstanding nurses and heard about their superb projects that have transformed the lives of patients and service users. Our shortlist is full of nurses who have gone above and beyond the remit of their day jobs to improve the care of patients, to reach hard to access groups, to enhance services and ensure safety.”