The Greater Manchester Pre-Hospital Point of Care Troponin Pilot, delivered by North West Ambulance Service (NWAS), was highly commended in the Best Collaboration Across Clinical, Academia and Industry category at the awards ceremony held in London on 19 June.

The pilot, implemented by Phillip Jones, Innovation Consultant and Advanced Practitioner at NWAS, brought together partners from our trust, Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust (MFT), The University of Manchester (UoM), Health Innovation Manchester and Siemens Healthineers to explore the use of point of care troponin testing in the ambulance setting.

Troponin testing is used to help identify heart muscle damage and is an important part of assessing patients with suspected heart attacks. It is a simple blood test that measures the level of cardiac troponin, a protein released into the bloodstream when the heart muscle is damaged. The pilot explored whether carrying out this testing earlier, before a patient arrives at hospital, could support faster clinical decision-making and help improve patient pathways.

The project was originally developed and clinically led by Professor Rick Body, Professor of Emergency Medicine at MFT and The University of Manchester, and demonstrates the impact of bringing together expertise from across ambulance services, acute care, academia and industry to address shared healthcare challenges.

A wide range of colleagues contributed to the success of the pilot, including experts in paramedic practice, emergency medicine, healthcare science, innovation, information governance, project management, health economics, evaluation and research. Support from MFT’s Innovation Team and Biochemistry and Point of Care Testing Department helped ensure the programme was delivered with strong governance and quality standards.

Phillip Jones said:

“This recognition reflects the strength of the partnership and the dedication of colleagues across all organisations involved. By working together, we have been able to explore new ways of delivering diagnostic testing earlier in the patient journey, with the potential to improve care and outcomes for people who call 999 with chest pain.”

The award recognition highlights the value of collaboration in developing new approaches to patient care and reflects NWAS’s ongoing commitment to innovation, research and partnership working across the NHS.

Congratulations to everyone involved in this achievement.