The Clinical Audit & National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) team at NELFT has won a Clinical Audit Hero Award. The ‘Improving Physical Healthcare Audit’ carried out on Morris Ward, a low secure forensic unit at Goodmayes Hospital, was named a winner in the ‘Using Data from the NCAPOP’ category.

Led by Dr Emmanuel Okoro alongside Mamun Rahman, Ikenna Agbo, Bernard MacMaddy, and Tapankumar Brahmbhatt, the award-winning project was driven by findings from the National Clinical Audit and Patient Outcomes Programme (NCAPOP). National data highlighted physical health inequalities faced by individuals with Severe Mental Illness (SMI).

By comparing local data and trends, the team implemented a series of impactful interventions to address challenges such as limited screening access and delays in specialised referrals – demonstrating how data-led audits can lead to meaningful, life-enhancing improvements in care.

Dr Okoro said: "We are extremely delighted to receive the 2025 National Clinical Audit Heros Award from HQIP. This underscores NELFT’s ongoing effort to provide the best care through continually improving healthcare access, experience, and outcomes for our service users. We are very grateful for the support of NELFT Audit and QI Teams to make this possible".

This recognition highlights the outstanding use of national data and effective communication to drive real change in patient care. The award celebrates the team's innovation, dedication and commitment to improving physical healthcare standards and tackling healthcare inequalities.

The full list of winners and more details about the awards can be found on the  HQIP website.