‘Leading edge’ Healthcare projects receive QNI recognition

28/06/06

Two West Gloucestershire projects at the leading edge of innovation in healthcare have been formally recognised at a glittering Queen’s Nursing Institute (QNI) awards ceremony at the Café Royal in London.

The ceremony marked the successful introduction of the projects and their first full year contributing to improved services for staff and service users.

With the support of the Queen’s Nursing Institute, a project called ‘Taking Active Ageing into Care Homes’ has been working closely with staff in care homes. The main aim of the project is to support care home staff in reducing the number and severity of falls.

A project team comprising of nurses, a healthy living worker, an active life co-ordinator and a qualified fitness instructor have provided knowledge training and expert coaching on safe activity sessions to staff.

Each care home has received professional equipment to help staff deliver safe and enjoyable activity sessions for older people.

The PCT’s Lead Nurse for the Care Homes Support Team, Mikki Jarvis said:

“This community based project is making a real difference to the physical and mental well-being of older people living in care homes and is also helping to lessen the pressure on other NHS services and reduce hospital admissions.”

“By raising staff awareness and empowering them through knowledge and skills, there is a genuine opportunity to reduce the incidence and severity of falls.”

Cabinet Portfolio Holder for Adult Social Care at Gloucestershire County Council, Cllr Tony Hicks said:

“We know that frail residents in care homes are often prone to falls and as a result can sustain serious injuries. This innovative project, which uses careful research and the skills of health and social care staff to meet the individual needs of care home residents, deserves the recognition it is receiving.”

Anne Pearson, Practice Development Facilitator at the Queen’s Nursing Institute said:

“The care homes themselves have benefited as community spirit increases and staff feel empowered to provide additional help to residents. This is an excellent piece of work and we congratulate the health and social care team in West Gloucestershire who are leading this work.”2/

A second project, which is using ‘patient ambassadors’ in the self care and treatment of leg ulcers, also received a special mention at the awards ceremony in London.

The ‘Look after Your Legs’ project focuses on the problem of venous leg ulcers, which not only cause misery for thousands of older people and also some younger sufferers, but also costs the NHS an estimated £600 million nationally every year.

The condition has serious physical symptoms but the work of the District Nursing Team is also concentrating on the psychological effects leg ulcers can have.

District Nursing Sister, Anna Gibbins said:

“The health promotion sessions that we hold in West Gloucestershire are interactive with lots of involvement from patients and carers who are living with leg ulcers and coping with compression bandaging and stockings as part of every day life.”

“Many people have no family and few friends with whom to share the problem and we have now developed the ‘patient ambassadors’ scheme with this in mind.”

Ambassadors range in age from 70 upwards and play a key role in advising people in their local area, on leg ulcer care and prevention. Importantly they have all suffered from the condition and can provide advice and help based on their own experiences.

Anne Pearson, Professional Development Facilitator at Queen’s Nursing Institute commented that the project is making an enormous contribution to the reduction of costs associated with leg ulcer care.

“This is a truly innovative solution to one of the health services most intractable problems – venous leg ulcers in older people.”

“Most of the annual cost involved in the care of the condition is nursing time. Anna’s use of patient ambassadors fulfils a social and clinical role. The work is a brilliant demonstration of patient involvement in service provision.”

Director of Clinical Development at West Gloucestershire Primary Care Trust, Jan Marriott said:

“It is particularly pleasing that West Gloucestershire has scooped two awards in the same year and it emphasises the quality and innovation of nursing in our area. It shows what is being done to provide services at a more community based level, reducing the pressure on other services both in primary care and in hospitals.”