Two NHS Forth Valley dietitians have won a prestigious award for their use of desktop software to increase patient-facing time.

Nicola Henderson and Caroline Ritchie are to receive the Dame Barbara Clayton Award for Innovation and Excellence in Dietetic Practice for their work in increasing dietetic patient facing time with renal patients undergoing dialysis.

The Trustees of the British Dietetic Association’s (BDA) General and Education Trust Fund created this new award – which was presented to the winners at an event in Birmingham in June 2014 – specifically to recognise innovation and excellence in dietetic practice.

On being awarded the Dame Barbara Clayton Award, Nicola Henderson said: “I feel really honoured to have won this prestigious award and I would like to thank the BDA for recognising our work.

“Through innovative use of Microsoft Excel, combined with process mapping and lean methodology, we have simultaneously improved service quality, efficiency and productivity. This is a perfect example of clinical engagement with eHealth and has delivered clear outcomes linked with healthcare quality dimensions.”

Fellow award winner, Caroline Ritchie added: “It is a privilege to have our work acknowledged and rewarded in such a way. Our Renal Dietetic Database has resulted in a significant increase in patient facing time to support individuals receiving haemodialysis.

“I am overwhelmed with all the positive feedback we have received so far and I am very grateful to the BDA for this esteemed award. Hopefully our success will inspire others to develop and demonstrate new innovative ways of working”.