Nursing in Social Care
Winner
Care UK: Hear well
For many people living with dementia, travelling to an appointment and having a stranger provide audiology services is stressful. It can result in treatment refusal, so providing it in a familiar environment by someone they know increases the chance of successful outcomes. This project aimed to identify and treat reversible hearing loss. All residents who wanted a hearing check, including otoscopy, had one. When reversible hearing loss through wax impaction was identified, residents underwent a short treatment and their hearing was restored. This service improved quality of life and reduced the impact of social isolation. As a result, a nurse in each region will be trained to identify residents who will benefit from hearing checks, otoscopy and microsuction as part of the wider package of care in all 152 care homes.
Finalists
Dorothy House Hospice Care: Enhancing end-of-life quality of care: The Tulip certificate
This certificate was launched to support non-registered staff and formally recognise their value. Three-day training is followed by three follow-up sessions on a monthly basis. Now recognised and used in local care homes, it has also been adapted for staff who are new to care.
Humber and North Yorkshire Health and Care Partnership: Care Provider Olympics
Providers were invited to host an
Olympic-style event to promote the
positive effects of physical activity, flight
deconditioning, and share resources,
ideas and good practice. A bulletin
shared news of the campaign. Hundreds
of staff learned from the initiative.
Humber and North Yorkshire Health and Care Partnership: Impact of a hydration quality improvement programme in care homes
Interventions and an educational
package to improve staff recognition/
response to residents’ hydration needs
were launched. These led to residents
having fewer urinary tract infections and
better quality of life, and improved
communication between staff.
Kineton Manor Nursing Home: Teaching Care Home Project
The project was initiated to improve the
experiences of people with dementia by
raising awareness and enhancing people’s
care and environment. Staff training was
implemented and a quiet room created.
Landermeads Nursing Home: Quality of life and continence promotion in long-term dementia care
This home ‘grows its own’ staff and its
training focuses on empathy. Problems
due to inappropriate continence
products were addressed. Residents are
happier and behaviors of concern, falls
and urinary tract infections have reduced.
Nightingale Hammerson: Outstanding holistic care-home care
To deliver outstanding care to older
Jewish people in two care homes, the
director of care engaged with universities
to take part in 15 research studies within
a year. The first ever Care Home Research
Forum, in which researchers presented
study outcomes, was also organised.
North Central London Training Hubs and North Central London ICB: Project G.A.R.D.E.N.
Nurse educators engaged staff and
residents to reconnect with nature by
sending them sunflower seeds. Flower
growth was measured and compared at a
fortnightly virtual meeting. Participants
became confident communicating
digitally, and their physical activity and
connections with each other improved.
Ocean Healthcare: Nurse-led complex care
A team of carers, supported by nurses,
was set up to support case managers
providing health and social care. Homebased
and complex care was delivered,
with digital care records produced to aid
multidisciplinary team care planning.
Pressure on the wider team was reduced
with no compromises to care.
StellarCare NW: Delivering coordinated care at home: a nurse-led approach to improve client outcomes
An initiative was launched to meet the
changing clinical needs of clients at
home. Live reporting systems meant
concerns were raised and reviewed in real
time, and health professionals informed.
Treatment could be started quickly,
which helped prevent disease, hospital
admissions and associated costs.
Sutton Health and Care and Epsom and St Helier University Hospitals NHS Trust: Learning disability health facilitation project
Clinics, home visits, support centres and
school outreach services were launched
to facilitate annual health checks for
people with a learning disability. All
reasonable adjustments were made and
easy-read leaflets were produced, along
with customised actions plans. Uptake
of annual health checks increased.
Wren Hall Nursing Home: Using digitalisation to recognise deterioration earlier in frail older people with complex needs
Devices that could read and record
clinical observations were sourced to
ascertain whether digital technology
could help predict deterioration in frail
older care home residents with complex
needs. Hospitalisations were prevented.