Hospital staff win praise for patient project

STAFF at Morriston Hospital's cardiac intensive care unit have been hailed nationally for their work in getting patients involved in improving care.

Nearly a decade after coming up with the idea, The Nursing Times has just published a three-page feature entitled "Using the skills of public volunteers to steer services".

It was written by Louise Hughes, professional development manager, at Abertawe Bro Morgannwg University Health Board and Allan Barham, lay public- patient representative.

The 3,000-word article talks about the journey taken by clinical staff and patient representatives, who worked together to find better ways of offering cardiac ITU services.

Ms Hughes said: "At first we weren't sure what to expect, but now we are used to having 'critical friends' to work with and help us continually improve the service.

"We welcome being challenged and taking the patient's perspective into account to ensure we are providing the best service we can."

Mr Barham, 73, of Gower, said he believed the input of patients had made a real difference to their families.

He added: "I think the biggest difference we've been able to make is demonstrating that it isn't just about the patient in the bed, but that the whole family is affected.

"We've done quite a bit to improve visitor facilities at cardiac ITU; make sure that families are kept informed and that a service is provided for bereaved families."

Ms Hughes said in 2002 a decision was taken by cardiac intensive care unit staff to take a more formal approach to practice development and it was done in collaboration with the Centre for Development of Healthcare Policy and Practice at Leeds University.

One of the key parts of the initiative was patient and public involvement.

Now, along with Mr Barham, there are seven other patients taking part in the scheme, some of whom are former cardiac patients and can draw on their own experiences of the unit.

The unit was successfully accredited as a Practice Development Unit (PDU) and has been re-accredited twice.

Ms Hughes said: "We were very pleased that our article was accepted for publication and we hope that it increases the interest around patient-public involvement in other areas."

elizabeth.perkins@swwmedia.co.uk

Source: http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/32715/f/503366/s/146c73c5/l/0L0Sthisissouthwales0O0Cnews0CHospital0Estaff0Ewin0Epraise0Epatient0Eproject0Carticle0E348560A20Edetail0Carticle0Bhtml/story01.htm

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