Innovative health service shortlisted for top national award

Company news

Jul 07, 2014

The Greater Manchester NHS Clinical Assessment and Treatment Service (CATS) has been shortlisted for a high profile national award.

The service, which has been run by independent health and social care provider Care UK for the past five years, has been shortlisted in the Value and Improvement in the use of Diagnostics category of this year’s HSJ Value in Healthcare Awards.

A spokesperson for HSJ said: “The awards have received their highest number of entries in its history so to be shortlisted is a fantastic achievement.”

Greater Manchester NHS CATS consists of large mobile clinics which rotate between seven sites around Greater Manchester, typically spending four or five days at each location before moving on overnight. Patients are referred to the service by their GPs and can expect to receive fast access, fewer overall appointments, quicker diagnosis of their condition and better overall outcomes.

Its team includes specialists in a range of areas, including urology, ear, nose and throat, gynaecology, musculoskeletal, minor surgery, gastroenterology and endoscopy. It also provides on-site diagnostics that use the very latest technology, including MRI, x-ray, ultrasound and CT scanning. This means that in many cases patients can see a consultant and have any diagnostic tests required in the same appointment.

Alison Hitchen, clinical services manager at Greater Manchester NHS CATS, said: “We have been informed that the competition this year has been particularly fierce so we are naturally delighted to have been shortlisted. We provide a service which is patient-focused, delivers high clinical quality and represents good value for money to the NHS. We will be keeping our fingers crossed that we can go on to win our category against the other strong shortlisted nominees from across the country.”

The service will discover if it wins a top award at the awards ceremony in London in September.