Initiative improving patient care could be rolled out across NE
An innovative staff education programme developed in Sunderland could be adopted by other North East health trusts.
Stroke specialist nurse Diane Gulliver originally came up with the idea of offering staff on the Acute Stroke Unit at Sunderland Royal Hospital a weekly education session.
It draws on the varied expertise of the multi-disciplinary team involved in stroke care and rehabilitation for South Tyneside and Sunderland NHS Foundation Trust patients.
Among those included are consultants, nurses and allied healthcare professionals such as physiotherapists, occupational therapists, speech and language therapists, and orthoptists who investigate, diagnose, monitor and manage visual disorders while patients willing to share their personal experiences of care are also involved.
With the support of the University of Sunderland, the session has gradually been developed into a module.
Diane said: “It all came about when we realised so many different specialists were coming to the stroke unit and doing their jobs but we weren’t making best use of them as a resource by sharing their knowledge, skills and expertise with the whole team.
“It was also very important for us to involve patients because, ultimately, it is their personal experience from which we need to learn in order to improve.”
The module is attracting interest from members of the therapy teams working in the Acute Stroke Unit while other NHS Trusts have also expressed interest in introducing similar courses to help staff.
Sue Brent, head of the School of Nursing and Health Sciences at the University of
Sunderland, said: “It is great to see such positive work between one of our partner NHS Trusts and our School of Nursing and Health Sciences coming to fruition.
“We are genuinely excited and incredibly committed to the work we are doing in supporting our NHS colleagues.”
There have been major improvements in clinical outcomes since changes were made in December 2016 centralising acute inpatient stroke care for both patients at Sunderland Royal Hospital.
As a result, more patients now have access to high quality stroke care and lifesaving treatment, delivered by specialists in the dedicated unit.