Bronglais thrombosis prevention team wins top national award
3 June 2025
Hywel Dda University Health Board’s Bronglais Hospital in Aberystwyth has won a prestigious national award in recognition of work by teams across all departments in lowering the risk of thrombosis in patients under their care.
The team beat off stiff competition from hospitals all over the UK to win the ‘Work in VTE Prevention’ award presented by national charity Thrombosis UK recently.
The team picked up the award at a special event hosted by Sarah Brown MP at the House of Commons
Consultant physician at Bronglais Hospital Dr Annette Snell and her team were recognised for their sustained compliance to Venous thromboembolism (VTE) Risk Assessment and VTE Prevention in order to increase patient safety while in hospital.
VTE also known as ‘thrombosis’ or ‘blood clots’ which includes ‘deep vein thrombosis’ and ‘pulmonary embolism’, is a leading cause of hospital deaths and disability.
Around 50 per cent of all blood clots are associated with being admitted into hospital for illness or surgery.
Dr Snell said: “We were delighted to have received the award and to have the achievements of the team recognised. And our success has very much been a team effort.”
“My colleague Emma Phillips, Quality Improvement and Service Transformation Practitioner who specialises in preventing incidences of hospital acquired thrombosis (HAT) has been a main driver of our work along with Donna Robson, the pharmacy lead for Bronglais Hospital.”
As far back as 2020, the Health Board has been making significant progress in improving VTE risk assessment practices, working with colleagues across all clinical teams to achieve strong commitment towards patient safety.
Dr Snell said: “Our work included a number of initiatives. We used clinical feedback from colleagues to re-design the way we carried out VTE risk assessments and developed a thromboprophylaxis policy which demonstrated a responsive and easily adaptable approach.”
“The team made monthly spot checks of patient notes across specialities and shared data related to HAT with clinical leads and at local governance meetings. Pharmacy colleagues provide VTE risk training to all new clinicians.
“There is now confidence that patients admitted to Bronglais General Hospital will routinely have a completed VTE risk assessment and appropriate prescribing of thromboprophylaxis during their admission.
“Hopefully winning the award will enable us to pass on our learning to other sites within Hywel Dda and also other health boards in Wales and beyond.”
The judging panel praised Dr Snell and her team for their comprehensive improvement project which demonstrated sustainability and provided evidence to show the impact and effectiveness of their approach.
Mark Henwood, Executive Medical Director said: “Congratulations to Annette and the team who have made significant strides to improve VTE risk assessment practices at Bronglais Hospital. They have worked together with all clinical teams leading to a strong commitment towards patient safety.”
ENDS
Pictured from left are Emma Phillips, Quality Improvement Practitioner; Dr Annette Snell and Donna Robson, Pharmacy Lead at Bronglais Hospital.