Wednesday 19th January 2011

A Chesterfield Pharmacist was one of only SIX health professionals to win a prestigious award in recognition of her work in helping to combat the UK’s biggest hospital killer - blood clots.

Chesterfield MP Toby Perkins last week presented an award to Anna Braithwaite (pictured left), at the inaugural Lifeblood Thrombosis Prevention Awards held in Parliament this week, in order to help to highlight the killer which accounts for as many as 25,000 avoidable deaths every year.

Ms Braithwaite, who is Principle Pharmacist at Chesterfield Royal Hospital NHS Foundation Trust was praised for providing exemplary leadership in thrombosis prevention, by developing comprehensive and effective prevention strategies.

John Glen MP said: "Pharmacists have a very important role in delivering the national thrombosis prevention programme. Anna has been the driving force behind development of an excellent prevention programme in her Trust. She has worked with her colleagues to raise awareness about the condition and pushed risk assessment and prophylaxis rates, to ensure her hospital is a much safer place for patients.

"Thrombosis is a devastating killer. It is astonishing to think that 500 people die each week in our hospitals from this largely preventable condition.

"Making sure that people are aware of the dangers of developing blood clots, particularly during hospital stays, and ensuring they are properly risk-assessed by hospital staff, will go a long way to reducing the thousands of preventable deaths from this potentially fatal condition."

A deep vein thrombosis is a blood clot in the veins of the lower body, which can particularly form when someone is immobile and unwell. Part, or all, of the clot can detach and travel through the blood system where it can block the arteries supplying the lungs - a pulmonary embolism - which can be fatal.

Thrombosis is the immediate cause of death in 10% of all patients who die in hospital, although most blood clots show up after the patient has left hospital.

Professor Beverley Hunt, Director of thrombosis charity, Lifeblood and leading Haematologist, said: "Anna Braithwaite's work is making a really important contribution to helping the campaign to prevent the 1,000s of unnecessary deaths from thrombosis.

"The award is very well deserved and we need as many front line staff in the NHS to get involved and become local champions for thrombosis prevention."

Hospital-acquired infections, such as MRSA and C. Difficile, account for less than 10,000 deaths a year compared to the estimated preventable 25,000 deaths caused each year by hospital acquired thrombosis.

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