Nurse-led excellence recognised at RCN Frontline First Innovation Award
Published: 26 January 2011
A nurse-led service which greatly reduced unplanned hospital admissions among older people and saved the NHS more than £400,000 over a nine month period, has beaten 300 nominees to win the Royal College of Nursing’s Frontline First Innovation Award.
Marina Lupari, of Northern Ireland, received the award at a ceremony in London last night for her work in evaluating and promoting a new model of community nursing for managing long term conditions. She receives a commemorative award and funding to assist in developing the project in the Northern Health and Social Care Trust.
Through the scheme a chronic illness case management service (CICM) was established and 16 full time nurses recruited to deliver specialist care for patients with serious respiratory problems, heart failure and diabetic conditions. Nurses were given extra education and support to work with high-risk older people in their own homes to manage their multiple chronic conditions.
Under a controlled trial with half of service users receiving usual care and the other half CICM intervention, bed days were reduced by 59 per cent in the latter group. Patients also reported feeling better and said that support from the CICM allowed them to function better. The difference in average cost per patient was also £1,493 lower for those who received the CICM service, representing a total saving of more than £400,000 across the nine month follow up period.
Marina said: “I am delighted to win this prestigious award. The main principle behind this innovation is to proactively manage the patient’s identified risk factors, which prevents deterioration and therefore avoids unplanned hospitalisation. It’s about working out when patients are showing the early signs of being sick and then giving them the tools to help rectify the problems.”
RCN Chief Executive & General Secretary Dr Peter Carter said: “A key strand of the Frontline First campaign is to highlight outstanding examples of nurse-led innovation. This not only saves money at a time of great financial pressures, but also improves the care and services provided to patients. This scheme is an exemplar of the improvement in both care and cost-saving that nurses can achieve when given the opportunity. My full congratulations go to Marina and her team.”
Second place went to Carol Gill, a nurse at Bradford and Airedale Community Health Services (BACHS) who developed an early warning system to prevent elderly patients in care homes from getting pressures sores. A pilot in six care homes saw a reduction in pressure ulcers by an average of 25 per cent over 12 months. Gill delivered training and educational sessions, and encouraged health care staff to use a reporting and recording tool she had developed.
NHS Wakefield District Community drug treatment team claimed third place for developing both a drop-in clinic and outreach services, aimed at improving the health of substance misusers. The team adapted their service to suit the lifestyle of the people they treat so they can be seen whenever and wherever works best. Advice has been given in McDonald’s and regular vaccination sessions are held in a city centre bar. All clients entering the service are given a full health screening and a range of care pathways have been developed to address key areas including dentistry, sexual health, nutrition and family planning.
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Notes for Editors
1.For further information, interviews or illustrations please contact the RCN Media Office on 0207 647 3633, press.office@rcn.org.uk or visit http://www.rcn.org.uk/newsevents/media
2. The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) is the voice of nursing across the UK and is the largest professional union of nursing staff in the world. The RCN promotes the interest of nurses and patients on a wide range of issues and helps shape healthcare policy by working closely with the UK Government and other national and international institutions, trade unions, professional bodies and voluntary organisations