Issue 9 March 2015

GSF Award for Ward 23 at RLI

I am delighted to announce that we have become one of just

two hospitals in the country to be awarded gold standard
accreditation in end of life care. Ward 23 at the RLI has achieved
the highest standards against the Gold Standards Framework
(GSF) Quality Hallmark Award in end of life care. The only other
Trust in England to have achieved this is The Royal Devon & Exe-
ter NHS Foundation Trust. Id like to congratulate Alison Scott,
Judy Eyres, Samantha Salisbury, Patricia Atkinson and the
medical and nursing team on Ward 23 on their success. This is a
superb result for our Trust and shows that we are listening and
acting on previous CQC recommendations.

New HDU at FGH

HDU at FGH officially re-opened last week, following an extensive

refurbishment. The unit has seen its floor space double in size
along with better facilities to improve patients environment and
staff experience. The improvements also includes additional
bedside technology, improved storage space and the creation of
a fully en-suite isolation area. The number of beds in HDU has
increased from six beds to eight and there has also been an
investment made in recruiting more staff. The event was
organised by public governor Shahnaz Ashgar-who works
tirelessly to support both patients and staff at FGH. Patients, staff
and guests including Felicity Wilson, Mayor of Millom celebrated
the re-opening of the unit on Wednesday and the unit was
officially opened by Mrs Patricia Jones, who was a former patient
in HDU. This is great news for FGH and the people of Barrow.
 Important Information about Revalidation

From 2016 the way in which nurses and midwives re-register

or renew their registration to practice will change under a
system known as revalidation. The nursing regulator, the
Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC), is proposing that the
first nurses and midwives to revalidate will be those with a
renewal date in April 2016. However, you should be already
thinking about what this will mean for you. Revalidation has
different requirements from the old system of re-registration
(known as PREP). The Royal College of Nursing have
commissioned a short animated film to explain what
revalidation means and what you will need to do to ensure
you are ready for it. Please visit the link to help understand
what revalidation means and what you will need to do to
ensure you are ready for it https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=kJBwX_fIebw

Changes to patient Documentation from
1st April 2015
During the CQC inspection in February 2014 omissions were
found in patient risk assessments and care planning
documentation. Patient records were not always accurately
maintained and consequently posed a potential risk to patients.
The CQC recommended that the Trust must act to improve
record keeping in the Trust.
A Trust wide audit of medical and nursing documentation took
place in December and January 2014/15. The audit helped to
identify any areas that required immediate improvement and
areas for improvement that needed to be addressed in the short
and medium term.
A task and finish group agreed a number of key actions to
standardise record keeping which could be implemented quickly
across all wards in the Trust.
From the 1st April 2015 all disciplines will record
care contemporaneously in the case note file.
Sequential notes for all clinical care will be
recorded on history sheets.
A nursing care plan using a structured nursing
model has been agreed to ensure consistency and
quality of documentation. It is recognised however
that some specialist areas already use a
recognised model and this is expected to continue,
e.g. ICU. The use of an integrated pathway will
only be acceptable where it is being used by all
members of the multidisciplinary team to
document management plans and evidence of
care provided. GMC and NMC stamps must be
used by all staff. Further work will now take place
across divisions and specialities to develop a
comprehensive model for documentation from
admission to discharge and to develop a
standardised interdepartmental handover tool
using the SBAR model.

andrew.pryde@mbht.nhs.uk
Food to Go Bags rolled out across the Trust

Good nutrition and hydration plays an important part of a

patients experience of our hospitals and improves outcomes. likelihood of a patient becoming ill again and having to
Eating well and keeping hydrated is an important part of their come back into
care, welfare and recovery. Good nutrition and hydration hospital. The bags are available to collect from
cannot be underestimated. I was delighted to hear that we Catering Services during normal working hours.
launched our Next Steps Food-to-Go bags which were Outside of these hours the bags can be collected in the
developed by Hayley Reading, Matron for Acute Medicine, same way as the snack boxes are.
Tracy Litt, Catering Manager and Andy Bickle, Head Chef at
FGH. The bags will be rolled out across the Trust. We are only
the second Trust in the whole country to offer the scheme.
The bags contain essentials like UHT milk, bread, orange juice,
cereal and food which have a longer shelf life. The bags are a
simple and practical idea that complements our on-going work
to support our patients at home in the days and weeks after a
stay in hospital. These simple food bags will help ease the
transition from hospital to home which, alongside a wider
programme of care and support, can help to reduce the

Should staff enter the patient zone and touch

items that have been designated to be within
the zone without touching the patient, then
Infection Control & Prevention they need to clean their hands after this
contact. This avoids the risk of transferring any
Weve re-launched the WHO My 5 moments of hand microbes from this environment into another
patients zone.
hygiene across our hospitals this month. Look out for a range
Did you know our Clostridium difficile rates
of new posters with easy to follow instructions on how to are the lowest we have ever known which is
follow the WHO 5 moments of hand hygiene. Weve also amazing news. Well done to Angela Richards,
produced data cards to attach to your lanyards or slip into Infection Prevention Matron, the whole ICP
your pockets for easy reference. The concept of the 5 team and all front-line staff for your great
work.
moments is that the patient and their immediate environment
becomes what is defined as the patient zone. This zone can
differ according to where the patient is being treated and
needs to be agreed by the staff working within that
environment. Staff must clean their hands when they enter
this zone and when they leave. Staff can work within this
zone without having to clean their hands again unless they are
undertaking a clean/aseptic task or may have direct hand
contact with body fluids.

andrew.pryde@mbht.nhs.uk
 Millom Alliance

Last week we were asked to present to other NHS organisations at the Kings
(www.around-the-combe.co.uk), a detailed clinical model
Fund in London, exploring what best practice looks like in
developed including: the first advanced community
community health services. The one-day conference explored how NHS
paramedic in the North West, a nurse linked to community
organisations can improve and develop community health services. It
group mobilising the population for health and wellbeing,
also provided a forum for the sharing of good practice in community
school plays on using the health services properly, healthy
health care. The presentations showcased how the Trust , Cumbria
eating initiatives, a pharmacy minor illness scheme , care
Partnership and the local community have all worked together to develop
homes support scheme, new access system in general
services in the town - involving patients, families and carers to make sure that
practice, a community hospital reopened and a significant
they truly put the patient at the centre. The Millom model of healthcare was
reduction in length of stay was seen. The Millom model
developed following historical frustrations by the community in Millom which
shows just how much can be achieved when everyone works
culminated in a march by hundreds of people through the town. They
together to achieve a shared goal and is the ethos behind
demanded better healthcare services. What followed was incredible. The new
Better Care Together our shared strategy to make
model was formed with input from the community, patients, staff, the third
healthcare services in the Morecambe Bay area fit for a
sector and representatives from all NHS organisations and included: a
sustainable future.
community led GP recruitment campaign, 3 doctors recruited, a new
newspaper full of health promotion messages

have since had to learn a new way of life. We

have had incredible support along the way from
Well done Kerry! Kerry. She is always at the end of the phone. She
will come round at times when we are
struggling.
It was wonderful to hear that Kerry Hodson, a paediatric diabetes
Well done Kerry. You make me feel proud to be a
specialist nurse at FGH, received the Bouquet of the Week from the
nurse!
North West Evening Mail. Kerry was nominated for the bouquet due
to the extra care she gives her patients and the fact she
regularly makes herself available for help and appointments outside
of working hours. Kerry said: It was such a lovely surprise to arrive
at my patients home and find three other families, who are also my
regular patients waiting for me there. I was not expecting it. It was a
lovely gesture - especially as I was only doing my job. It really made
my day. Kerry was presented with the special flowers by three
patients who all have Type 1 diabetes: Libby Cavan, Ellie Thompson
and Ilana Goulding.
Kerry recently helped the three girls move from insulin injections to
insulin pumps, guiding them through the process and reassuring
them. Leanne Cavan, whose daughter Libby was diagnosed just over
two years ago, said: Libby was in hospital for three days. We

andrew.pryde@mbht.nhs.uk
PLACE - Patient Led Assessment Care Environment -
Furness General Hospital

Every NHS patient should be cared for with compassion and dignity in a
clean, safe environment. The PLACE assessments provide motivation for
improving care by providing a clear message, directly from patients, about
how the environment or services might be enhanced. On Friday 27 th March
a team of 10 Patient assessors made up of Healthwatch Cumbria
ambassadors, volunteers, foundation trust members, governors and
members of the public joined together to assess the environment both
inside and outside at FGH. Barry Rigg Community Engagement
manager said PLACE assessments put patient views at the centre of the
assessment and continuous improvement process, and use information Shahnaz Asgahr - public governor said The
assessments are undertaken annually, and results
gleaned directly from patient assessors to report how well a hospital is per-
will be reported publicly to help drive
forming in the areas assessed privacy and dignity, cleanliness, food and
improvements in the care environment.
general building maintenance. It focuses entirely on the care environment
The results will show how our hospitals are
and does not cover clinical care provision or staff behaviors
performing nationally.

Not only does this provide much better, more

comfortable experience for patients but the team
Well done Claire have avoided cost associated with treating pressure
ulcers by around 130,000 over a year. I am sure
that you will all want to join the board of directors
Intensive care unit staff reduce pressure sores with
and myself in congratulating Claire and her team.
impressive results
This is a great example of front line staffing learning
Claire Rawes, ward manager of the intensive care unit at the from incidents and involving patients and staff in
RLI attended the public board meeting in March to share improving care.
the great work she and her team have led following a
review of patient incidents in 2013. The team have worked
with patients and staff to assess devices for comfort and risk
of pressure ulcers. The executive team helped to test some
of the nasal cannula last year in support of these efforts.

The results have been impressive. Since 2013, the team

have reduced pressure ulcers on the unit from 6.29%
to 0.74% (national averages range between 4-10%).

andrew.pryde@mbht.nhs.uk
 Other News

The mock CQC Inspection at the RLI went well. We are seeing
some great improvements. We are not there yet but heading
in the right direction.
Recruitment update - We will be attending the RCN Jobs Fair
on 9/10th April and taking part in a virtual careers fair on
May 11th. We are also continuing our recruitment drive in
Spain and looking further afield to Singapore.
A new dedicated Bereavement Office opened at FGH this
month . Thanks to all the team involved.
Did you all see the animation video that our comms teams
have produced? I think the clip articulates our Better Care
Together strategy really well: http://www.uhmb.nhs.uk/
strategy/
Nursing Times Awards 2015 Reminder:
You only have until 17 April to complete
and submit your Nursing Times Award
entries. Full details here:
http://awards.nursingtimes.net/
Im hearing some great feedback about our new
nurses who have recently joined the Trust from
Spain. Your nursing colleagues tell me you are a
pleasure to work with. Benvenida to you all and
well done on making such a great first impression!
I look forward to meeting you soon.

The key points are:

4 themes - prioritise people, practice effectively,
preserve safely and promote professionalism and trust.
New Professional code New elements of the code include:
Revised professional code for nurses and midwives Duty of candour, fundamentals of care and standards
Today (March 31st 2015) sees the launch of the revised for acting responsibly - including the use of social
professional code for nurses and midwives. The revision media, Medicines management, conscientious objection
follows extensive consultation, as a response to changes and and end of care life are all included in the new code.
developments in practice, and wider expectations of health
The Code will be central to revalidation, which is a series
and care staff. The requirements apply not only to nurses and
of three-yearly checks that the NMC is introducing at the
midwives involved in direct care-giving roles, but to all in
end of 2015.
leadership, education, research and policy. The revised Code
Click here to view the revised Professional code.
builds on the content of the current version, which was
published in 2008. Public expectations of care have changed
radically since the Code was last reviewed in 2008. It is
essential that the Code reflects patients needs, modern
healthcare practice, and the recommendations of reviews
such as the Francis Inquiry. The Code has been written with
the input of many patients, carers, nurses and midwives.

andrew.pryde@mbht.nhs.uk