A number of specialist new roles at Burton Hospitals are helping to improve the patient experience, reduce the number of people being admitted to hospital and shorten patients’ length of stay.
Kath Robertson was a sister on the male surgical ward at Queen’s Hospital for eight years before being asked to pilot the surgical assessment nurse role. After a successful four-week pilot, the post became permanent and last year another surgical assessment nurse was recruited to strengthen the service.The newly established service has helped to provide a more streamlined journey for acute surgical patients. Kath explained: “Previously, the on-call consultants liaised with a variety of ward nurses. Now the surgical assessment nurses are able to provide consistent and effective communication to consultants working with both elective and emergency surgical patients.
“I’ve helped to introduce surgical ‘hot clinics’ for patients where we see on average 20 – 25 patients per month. We assess patients who are presenting with abdominal pain but do not require admission to hospital. The patient can have their scan in the morning and receive a diagnosis in the afternoon so many patients are able to go home on the same day or the day after their treatment.”
Another newly established team is the frailty team. The team consists of physiotherapists, occupational therapists, advanced nurse practitioners and a social care assessor who look after patients who are over the age of 75.
The team start working with patients at the first stage of their journey in hospital, assessing patients often at point of admission to the Emergency Department (ED) or Acute Assessment Centre (AAC). The patient is assessed using the Trust’s new Comprehensive Geriatric Assessment tool (CGA) which takes a holistic look at the patient including a full medical examination, ability to cope at home, falls risk, nutritional and continence needs. A treatment plan is then put in place for the patient there and then with the patient, family and carers at the heart.
Sarah Elliott, physiotherapy team leader, said: “We realise that we need to change the environment in which we provide care to reflect the changing nature of health care in the 21stcentury, the bulk of which relates to older people, and increasingly frail older people.
“This is a different way of working and it’s proved to be really successful. By starting the assessments as soon as possible in ED or the AAC this has helped to reduce inappropriate hospitalisation of frail patients and potentially reduce the need for long term care. We work closely as a team to ensure the patient has the right treatment plan and support in place if needed when they go home. We’re helping the patient to get the right treatment, in the right place and at the right time.”
For more information contact [email protected] or visit www.burtonhospitals.nhs.uk