Bristol NHS Foundation Trust

30/10/2026

Throughout October, colleagues across Bristol NHS Foundation Trust came together to celebrate Black History Month through events, activities and conversations.

This year was particularly special, with colleagues from our race equality networks working together to plan and deliver a shared programme for the first time.

From music and creative activities to conversations that challenged us to think differently, the month created opportunities to celebrate, listen and to learn.

Black History Month may be over for another year but our commitment to equality, inclusion and anti-racism continues every day. Thank you to everyone who took part and shared their experiences.

29/10/2026

We were delighted to welcome an international cohort from the Royal College of Defence Studies recently.

Delegates visited the Bristol Royal Infirmary (BRI) and Bristol Royal Hospital for Children (BRHC), where they heard about our approach to delivering high-quality, innovative healthcare for our communities.

The visit also included a tour of our BRI and BRHC Emergency Departments and an opportunity to showcase how our teams are working together to provide the best care and experience to patients, improve health and reduce inequalities, support our staff to do their best, and make the best use of public resources.

We were proud to share our work as a Veteran Aware accredited organisation and to exchange learning with delegates from around the world.

28/10/2026

From 16 November you will find the Southmead Hospital Minor Injuries team in their new home at Gate 24 of the Brunel building. 🏥

26/10/2026

Children's immunology service awarded for high standards 🙌

The Quality in Primary Immunodeficiency Services (QPIDS) accreditation found our children's service to offer excellent care, effectiveness, positive family feedback and responsiveness in their report.

The Paediatric Immunology Service cares for young people at Bristol Royal Hospital for Children who have primary immune disorders. These are a group of conditions where the body's immune system doesn't fight infections as it should.

QPIDS is awarded by the Royal College of Physicians to services that meet best practice quality standards covering all aspects of an immunology service, including person-centred treatment and care, risk, safety and workforce.

22/10/2026

Lighting your woodland walk home 🌳

We recently re-opened our woodland walkway near Bristol Haematology and Oncology Centre and Bristol Heart Institute with new lighting 💡

As the daylight hours shorten, you can continue to use the route safely and enjoy some Bristol city centre nature 🍂

22/10/2026

Huge congratulations to Tim Johnston for being announced as a 365 Awards winner! 🎉

Head of Health and Safety, Tim, was honoured for the dedication he and the wider team show to supporting "safer healthcare environments, stronger safety governance and a culture that values the wellbeing of colleagues as well as patients".

"Their contribution represents the kind of commitment that deserves recognition: professional expertise, collaborative leadership and a determination to make a positive difference, often without seeking the spotlight", said the awards.

Well done Tim! 👏

Bristol NHS Foundation Trust Wins Health & Wellbeing Excellence Award 2026

21/10/2026

Jessica, a Bristol mother who participated in a potentially life-saving baby vaccine trial while pregnant, is encouraging other women to take part.

The National Institute for Health and Care Research supported BEATRIX study is a world-first clinical trial testing a new vaccine against Group B streptococcus (GBS).

GBS is the most common cause of life-threatening infection in newborn babies, causing sepsis, pneumonia and meningitis. It can kill a newborn baby within hours if untreated.

Around one in every 1,000 babies in the UK and Ireland develops a GBS infection in their first three months of life. Each year, GBS kills 50 babies in the UK and Ireland, while around a further 70 babies survive with long-term disabilities, such as hearing loss, vision problems, cerebral palsy, or developmental difficulties.

Thank you to Jessica and her baby Clemmie for taking part, and being willing to talk about their experiences!

https://www.bristolft.nhs.uk/about-us/news-and-media/newsroom/2026/bristol-mum-urges-pregnant-women-join-world-first-baby-trial

21/10/2026

Our Minor Injuries Unit is moving!

From Monday, 16 November if you come to Southmead Hospital NHS with a minor injury you will be seen in our new Minor Injuries Unit at Gate 24 of the Brunel building. 🏥

20/10/2026

A pioneering new project led by one of our clinicians could revolutionise head and neck cancer diagnosis - using AI-powered nasendoscopy.

Dr Soudeh Nezamivand-Chegini, Consultant Head and Neck Surgeon at BFT, has received a prestigious Innovate Future Leaders Fellowship from UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) to enable this groundbreaking work. This is the first time a BFT member of staff has received one.

A nasendoscopy is where a thin tube with a camera on the end is inserted into the nostril, to allow the areas where head and neck cancer develops to be examined. This includes the nose, throat and voice box.

In England, more than half of patients with head and neck cancers are diagnosed when the disease has reached stage 4. Detecting cancer earlier greatly improves survival and quality of life.

As well as being a head and neck surgeon, Soudeh also has a PhD in biomedical engineering and has founded health-tech company ChaseAI. She has developed Blaise, the first AI platform designed to help doctors detect head and neck cancer in real time during a nasendoscopy.

In early testing on thousands of images, Blaise correctly identified 95% of cancers, while also correctly identifying 91% of patients without cancer. This means it outperformed even experienced specialists.

https://www.bristolft.nhs.uk/about-us/news-and-media/newsroom/2026/new-project-could-revolutionise-head-and-neck-cancer-diagnosis-0

19/10/2026

We’re delighted to welcome our first students onto our Sponsored Nursing Degree programme, in partnership with BPP University!

The students all live with Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire and come from a huge variety of different backgrounds with various levels of NHS experience, each with their own reasons for applying. This new programme is the first of its kind and helps to remove some of the barriers to training as a nurse by guaranteeing all clinical placements will be hosted within the Trust, as well as providing sponsorship funding towards the students’ course fees.

One of the students, who has worked in care for nearly 15 years, said “For me, nursing is about taking care of people, getting to be a part of helping someone get better and giving something back to my community. I want to make my children proud and show them that if I can do this at my age, they can achieve anything they set their minds to.”

Good luck to all of the students with their training, and a very warm welcome to !