A team of Liverpool healthcare professionals has won a national award for their work with people suffering from deafness, tinnitus and balance problems.

The Ear, Nose and Throat (ENT) Service Redesign Team, from Aintree University Hospital, triumphed in the “Rethinking the patient journey” category at the Advancing Healthcare Awards.

The team, which consists of managers, ENT consultants, physiotherapists and audiologists, has worked to streamline the treatment process their patients go through.

Tony Kay, Head of Audiology Services at Aintree, said: “We wanted to create one stop shops for our patients, where assessment, diagnosis, treatment and therapies were delivered simultaneously. The service has been well received by patients so we are delighted that it has been recognised nationally.”

It is hoped the Aintree model can now be adopted by other Trusts.

Tony Kay added: “We have already been approached by other organisations who are impressed by our results so hopefully our work will help benefit patients across the country and not just in Merseyside.”

The redesigned clinics, which have been running for 12 months, have seen approximately 60 per cent of patients assessed, managed and discharged in just one visit. The clinics have been designed to remove unnecessary delays for patients, which enables clinicians to see more people in the same space of time.

A patient satisfaction survey of 100 patients showed that all patients were satisfied with the new service and more than 90 per cent gave it top marks.