Commendation for preventing blood clot conditions

NHS England has commended Guy's and St Thomas' for outstanding work in the prevention of the blood clot conditions known as venous thromboembolism (VTE). 

VTE is the collective name for deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolism. These conditions affect thousands of people in the UK each year and are potentially fatal.  

Having seen the high quality standards in place for preventing hospital-acquired VTE at Guy's and St Thomas', NHS England made the Trust a VTE Exemplar Centre. 

Exemplar Centres are key to the success of NHS England's national VTE prevention programme, which works to reduce VTE incidents and improve patient safety across the health service. The Exemplar Centres share successful strategies with other trusts for identifying patients at risk and implementing measures for avoiding VTE. 

Professor Beverley Hunt, lead clinician of the Thrombosis team, says: "We're delighted to have achieved Exemplar Centre status in recognition of our commitment to keeping patients safe, promoting best practice, and demonstrating leadership."