Press releases
Visit of Royal College of Nursing Chief to Sedgefield Community Hospital
(13 May, 2008)
Dr Peter Carter, General Secretary of the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) will be visiting the region on Tuesday 13 May 2008.
During his visit to the North East, Dr Carter will visit Sedgefield Community Hospital as one of the four national pilot sites implementing the 'Nutrition Now' campaign, which County Durham and Darlington Primary Care Trusts (PCTs) are launching in partnership with the RCN to raise the standards of nutrition in hospitals and the community.
The campaign aims to give nurses the practical tools, support and evidence they need to make nutrition a priority in the area where they work.
The Campaign has six goals:
- Nutrition to be treated as a greater priority by nurses, other members of the multidisciplinary team, management and Government
- Patients' experiences of nutrition and hydration to be enhanced in the focus sites
- All ward environments and care home settings to implement the principles of protected mealtimes effectively
- All ward environments and care home settings to implement the principles of protected mealtimes effectively
- All inpatients and people in care home settings to have a nutritional screening completed and actioned within 48 hours of admission
- Each country to have its own standards for nutrition* and hydration
* Note: Scotland already has these standards in place
- Initiate change in local attitudes and behaviours towards food and nutrition.
Dr Carter will be shown around the community hospital and will be speaking to staff and patients about their experiences of food and nutrition. He will also be discussing the pilot of 'Nutrition Now' campaign with the project team. As one of only four national pilot sites, the learning from the PCT will influence the roll-out of the programme nationally.
Patients will benefit from more effective screening of their nutrition needs and as a result will have their individual needs catered for. Through the introduction of the Malnutrition Universal Screening Tool (MUST) more patients will benefit from appropriate screening and assessment of their nutritional requirements.
This will be rolled out across the PCT's for the benefit of patients living in County Durham and Darlington. By streamlining the contracting arrangements and promoting good communication the team working at Richardson Hospital and the catering manager from County Durham and Darlington Foundation Trust will ensure a flexible and nutritious alternative to standard menu items.
The team have also worked to introduce a four week rotational menu rather than a two week menu to prevent repetition for long stay rehabilitation patients. This will be rolled out across all three of the community hospitals.
The team have set up regular meetings and telephone conferencing to address problems and issues proactively. This prevents delays and offers quick solutions to the nutritional needs of patients.
Through the collection of patient stories and the evaluating the previous introduction of MUST into the Richardson Hospital, solutions to problems have been identified and further training and development opportunities have arisen to ensure effective implementation of the tool.
The information collected has been invaluable in identifying what people want from a dietary perspective and some of the problems they experienced. Information will be collected again in three months to evaluate whether things have changed as a result of new ways of working.
Jackie Kay, Associate Director of Allied Health Professionals at County Durham PCT, said: 'I am thrilled that the members of the 'Nutrition Now' project team have this opportunity to meet with Dr. Peter Carter and discuss their work here in County Durham and Darlington.
'This national pilot project, delivered locally in partnership with the RCN, has been a very positive experience for the nurses, catering staff and dietitians involved. Plans are in place to build on their enthusiasm and successfully roll out the principles of the 'Nutrition Now' campaign to improve the standards of nutrition and hydration for patients across our community and hospital settings.'
ENDS
If you intend to send a photographer along to this event or would like further information on this press release, please contact Pat Lawlor, Communications Assistant on 0191 333 3003.
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