🎉Belfast Trust Success at the NI Healthcare Awards!!🎉

Metastatic CUP is a common and well-recognised cancer syndrome, representing 3–5% of all malignancies and is the fourth most common cause of cancer-related death, with on average 186 patients per year diagnosed in NI with a CUP. Until last year, there was no dedicated CUP service for this group of patients in NI, with many undergoing overly complex diagnostic pathways with unnecessary investigations, prolonged hospital stays and a number of MDT discussions at different MDMs prior to a treatment plan being agreed. In October 2024, the CUP Regional MDM commenced & meets on a weekly basis, offering review, advice and support regarding both MUO and CUP cases. This ensures timely diagnosis, improved survival and better outcomes for patients. This not only significantly benefits patients and their families but also the numerous clinical teams and services via which they present. It has standardised care for CUP patients across Northern Ireland & is ensuring equity in service provision alongside site specific cancer diagnoses.

Heart Failure Team

“The Belfast Trust heart failure team won the “Cardiology Team of the Year award” in the recent NI Healthcare Awards 2025, along with the SWAH cardiology team.  This was awarded to Belfast as they consistently offer a holistic, patient tailored, patient-centric service to patients with all types of heart failure to a high standard.  The team, consisting of both secondary care and community specialist nurses, manage patients from their diagnosis to advanced therapies, to end of life care and work closely together along with the heart failure cardiologists.”

The Regional Functional Electrical Stimulation (FES) Service

“The Regional Functional Electrical Stimulation (FES) Service started seeing patients in April 2024. Based in the Physiotherapy Department in Belfast City Hospital, we provide assessment, provision and review of FES devices to people with Multiple Sclerosis (MS) with foot drop and a telephone helpline for FES users.

FES for foot drop is a non-invasive treatment, which uses small electrical charges to stimulate nerves to produce muscle activity or a muscle contraction in weak leg muscles, mimicking a normal walking pattern.

FES may improve people with MS walking in different ways, such as being able to walk faster or further, on different surfaces more safely, with fewer trips or falls, or by feeling more confident. This can be life changing for people with MS and our service, for the first time in Northern Ireland, provides long-term loan of devices for people to use outside of supervised therapy in their own homes and communities. Our service users have seen an average 30% increase in walking speed. 89% of people have a reduction in fear of falling and 89% report an increase in exercise tolerance. For more information on FES visit the service webpage.”

Regional Insulin Pump Service

“Regional Insulin Pump Service is a virtual care model made of a multi-disciplinary team of diabetes specialist nurses, a diabetes specialist dietitian, administrative staff, a psychologist, technology staff and multiple industry team members.

The main aim of the service is to ensure that patients living with Type 1 diabetes have equal access and care to Insulin pump therapy and technology across Northern Ireland. The service is only in its second year and within that time has already achieved the implementation of regional procurement of all insulin pumps for both paediatric and adult services. There is now a regional virtual on boarding training programme for adult services. Patients attend the service for 3 months for highly specialised intensive follow up. Patients return to their trust following advanced and optimisation training sessions. The service has reduced waiting times, increased amount of patients on insulin pumps and standardised insulin pump care across the region.

“Regional Insulin pump Service was awarded The Northern Ireland Healthcare awards 2025 – Diabetes project of the year in recognition of outstanding achievement, innovation and dedication to excellence in healthcare.  The exceptional contribution has set a benchmark for others and made lasting impact on the future of healthcare in Northern Ireland”