The team at Frome Medical Practice is celebrating, after ending 2024 by winning its third national award of the year. 

The practice won the General Practice Awards 'Sustainability in Practice Award' at a ceremony in London in December. The General Practice Awards are a prestigious national celebration for those working in primary care and general practice in the UK.

They honour the work of brilliant individuals and teams who are striving to develop innovative projects, make system change, and ultimately improve care for their patients and communities. The practice is the first time winner of this new 'Sustainability In Practice' award category.

The success at the General Practice Awards follows the awarding of the 'Greener Award' at the Primary Care Pharmacy Association (PCPA) Awards at the end of November and the 'Sustainability in General Practice' Award at the Practice Managers Association (PMA) awards in October.

Managing Partner at Frome Medical Practice, Karen Creffield, said: "All three awards that we've won recently are a recognition of the work the team at the practice has undertaken since we made sustainability a priority in 2017.

"Delivering sustainable health care is about considering what is good for patients and good for the planet. To be recognised at such a high level nationally is something we are incredibly proud of."

The PCPA Greener Award was given in recognition of the pioneering work the practice has done in the area of Medicines Management. The judging panel applauded the range of work the practice has done, including a focus on reducing medicines wastage and offering patients support when they want to stop or reduce medication.

The panel were particularly impressed with the support offered to asthma patients and the work undertaken to encourage use of dry powder inhalers for asthma. This type of inhaler is typically better for the health of the patient and the environment. 

The PMA Sustainability in General Practice Award highlighted the commitment Frome Medical Practice has to environmental responsibility and community engagement, contributing to a greener and more resilient healthcare system by integrating eco-friendly measures into day to day work. 

Karen added: "The awards are national recognition of the work we are doing and the influence we are having beyond Frome, but at a more local level it's really important to recognise some of our achievements this year.

"These include recycling and composting over 50% of our waste, reducing our consumption of electricity and gas and implementing several projects that aim to reduce medicines waste, for example.

"The work we do on sustainability ranges from the most simple measures, keeping doors and windows closed for example, to more complex work monitoring our reduced emissions through changes in prescribing, and I want to thank the whole team for their commitment to this critical area of our work."