‘More About Me’, devised by Barry Pinkney, Matron at the James Paget University Hospital, together with Ali Thayne, Dementia Project Facilitator and Sarah Hay, Dementia Project Advisor has won the Spotlight Prize for Publications & Training Aids.
The Winning Entry
The card, which is similar to a greetings card, is used to communicate essential information regarding nutrition and hydration for the patient. Placed on the bedside locker, it is accessible by all staff including those serving meal and drinks.
Maintaining good levels of hydration and nutrition are key issues for patients with dementia and the card provides help for support services and also assures family carers that their relatives are being well cared for.
The benefits of ‘More About Me’ are that all staff can be involved in communication, it improves the patient experience, addresses the concerns of relatives and carers, reduces the length of hospital stay and the costs involved, prevents dehydration, lowers the risk of falls and urinary tract infections, improves on existing documentation regarding nutrition and fluids and increases job satisfaction for staff caring for dementia patients.
It was created as part of a project – Innovation in Nursing & Midwifery Practice – and complements a previous card ‘This Is Me’ produced by the Alzheimer’s Society and Royal College of Nursing which is used widely in general hospitals and located at the end of the bed.
Chris Armstrong, HEE Marketing Coordinator said: “’More About Me’ met all the criteria in our recent Spotlight Competition, fulfilling an unmet need, helping deliver identifiable and measurable benefits and having the potential to improve the quality and efficiency of healthcare services. In short, it ticked all the boxes for inventiveness, benefits, practicality, impact, adoptability and transferability.
“It is a perfect example of an innovation coming from front-line NHS staff who can see first-hand how a simple idea can overcome daily challenges in looking after patients with dementia. For example it could be as straightforward as telling support staff if the patient takes sugar in their tea, whether they would like a snack with their drink or which foods they don’t like”.
Barry Pinkney added: ‘More About Me’ is just part of a wide programme of initiatives at James Paget – a dementia pathway - to help patients and their carers. This includes other practical ideas such as using red trays and red jugs for those needing help with eating and drinking so it is immediately obvious to staff serving meals.”