Learning Disability Awareness Week June 20 - 24

This week is Learning Disability  Awareness Week and I would like to share some information and facts which  may help us to understand and appreciate our responsibilities to ensure that we  use all the resources at our disposal  to  ensure those with  Learning Disabilities are not disadvantaged during   their time  in our services either as out patients or inpatients.

• It is known that  people with learning disabilities have far greater healthcare needs than the general population.
• The evidence  suggests that people with a learning disability are 58 more times likely to die before the age of 50 than the general population
• People with learning disabilities can find it  more difficult to identify and describe symptoms of illness, and much harder to navigate the health care system. These  problems also make it more difficult for  care professionals to deliver treatment  effectively.

Individuals with learning disabilities  lead  fulfilling and normal  lives  outside the health care system and it is important  that their time with us  is supported to enable them to continue this as far as possible whilst  they are with us and when they leave  us no matter how short their stay. It is vital that we ensure  that  those who normally care for  an individual with a learning disability  are involved as much as possible in their  and are listened to to help us provide  the right  care for each individual.

We are fortunate  to have   a Learning Disability Health Liaison Team who cover all our hospital sites.  They  can also offer training sessions for your department. Please contact Sally Wright on 07553384945 for further details.

If you are a carer for someone  with learning disabilities who needs to access our services   then please contact the  manager of the ward or department  before an appointment or  admission where possible to  help us plan  their care. Equally if you are a carer or individual with learning disabilities  who can offer us advice  on how we might improve  our care please contact me.

Best Wishes

Helen

Carers Week 13-19 June

This week is  Carers Week  and it is important  that we all  take time to reflect  on the important role that  carers play both  in the lives of those they care for.  The contribution  that  carers make to the  mental and physical well being of some of the most vulnerable  individuals within society cannot be underestimated and often goes untold.

When those  that are cared for  come into one of our hospitals it is vital their carers are enabled to continue that caring role. As Nurses and Midwives working for the Acute Trust it vital we acknowledge  and  facilitate the continued involvement  of carers  whether they be formal or informal carers. Please let us know what we can do to help you.

We do have a number of initiatives to help make the above happen. We have a  Carers Charter which gives details our commitment to Carers and how you can access further help  from our Carer Development Officers. We have now moved to more open and flexible visiting  hours across all our hospitals  to enable   the continued involvement of carers wherever possible. Care from carers comes in many forms such as  assisting with communication with health care professionals, helping individuals to  eat and  drink, making sure  individuals get  what they want to eat or drink, helping with other daily activities of living, providing a comforting presence during  investigations and tests , reading the daily newspaper, helping to do a crossword and many many  more.

If you are a carer  caring for an individual  coming into hospital  you are welcome you  to contact the  ward or department to which the person you care for is being admitted  or one of our Carer Development Officers, at any time  so that we can ensure you are supported in being involved in care. If you have any advice or comments during or after your time in hospital as a carer, your feedback to me would be invaluable in helping us to improve  our services and achieve our commitment to carers.

Best Wishes

Helen

Response to Care Quality Commission report

The Care Quality Commission visited two wards at the Alexandra hospital in March and found aspects of nursing care given to some patients was not up to the standard that we would expect. As Harry Turner, Chairman, and John Rostill, Chief Executive, have already pointed out the people of Worcestershire deserve a consistent high standard of care and we intend to ensure that we deliver this daily.


As Director of Nursing and Midwifery I am bitterly disappointed  that the Care Quality Commission came into one of our hospitals and identified that  standards of nursing concerned with dignity and nutrition for older people fell below the  high standards that nurses in this Trust strive to achieve. As nurses we have  listened and learnt , and in recognition of our professional responsibility  have put in place improvements to practice, and stringent  measures and monitoring processes to ensure that we each discharge fully, this responsibility to  those in our care.


Those of you delivering care and those with leadership responsibilities must ensure that  the standards required  and expected are achieved every night and every day and where this doesn’t happen there can be no tolerance. It is a privilege to provide care to those who come into our hospitals and this should never be taken for granted.


Helen Blanchard
Director of Nursing and Midwifery

International Nurses Day 12 May

I thought it would be appropriate to write my first blog at a time when we are celebrating nurses and midwives everywhere.

Last week was International Day of the Midwife, and today is International Nurses Day. On behalf of the Trust board  I would like  to take this opportunity  to  say a sincere thank  you all Midwives and Nurses in this Trust  for their dedication and hard work day after  day in often difficult and challenging circumstances. Midwives and Nurses really make a difference to  the  lives  of patients and  carers and I know that all nurses in this Trust strive to make sure  every patient  receives the highest standard of care. As Director of Nursing and Midwifery I am  incredibly proud and privileged to work alongside so many of you who demonstrate a passion  for the values of nursing and professionalism in everything they do.

John Rostill our Chief Executive shares with us in the weekly bulletin extracts from letters he receives  highlighting examples  of  where nurses have demonstrated the best  very best of nursing practice and these are only a fraction of the positive feedback  we receive, and  all Nurses in this Trust should be proud of the work they do.

I would also like to take this opportunity  to  ask you of you who read this blog  to share  with me and others any stories you might have about  where midwives and nurses have made a difference so  we can share  and celebrate the  important work that our nurses do every day.

Best Wishes

Helen

Information about International Nurses Day

Each year, on the 12th of May, nurses celebrate nursing and raise the profile of their work in a variety of ways and events. Few can say they are untouched by the hard work and dedication of nurses in the UK and throughout the world and International Nurses Day is an opportunity to learn about the work of nurses and their workplaces.

It is also a day for nurses worldwide to celebrate their profession and unite to take pride in their jobs and show the world the importance of their work.

The Origins of Nurses Day

The reason that Nurses Day is held on the 12th May each year is because this is the birth date of Florence Nightingale. She made many reforms to nursing and health care and drastically cut the death rate amongst soldiers in the Crimean War as a result of her hard work, dedication and training of fellow nurses.

Westminster Abbey Nurses Day Service

Each year, on the day that would have been her birthday, there is a service at Westminster Abbey, London to commemorate her life and celebrate the nursing profession. A lamp is taken from the Nurses' Chapel at the Abbey and handed from one nurse to the next nurse during the service. The last person the lamp is handed to is the Dean who then places the symbolic lamp onto the High Altar. This ceremony is done to signify the passing of knowledge from one nurse to another, much like Florence Nightingale did when she set up her Schools of Nursing. It also signifies her nickname The Lady of the Lamp.