WHITTINGTON DOUBLE WINNERS AT THE 2019 NURSING TIMES AWARDS
07 Nov 2019
Awards were collected for the Child and Adolescent Service and Respiratory Nursing team - A massive well done!
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Whittington Health NHS Trust was announced as the winner of not one but two awards at the Nursing Times Awards 2019. Whittington Health teams took home the Child and Adolescent Service Award and the Respiratory Nursing Award.
In a glittering ceremony held at the Grosvenor House Hotel on Park Lane in London, nurses and organisations from across the profession were honoured across 23 categories in a night of recognition dedicated to celebrating exceptional achievement.
Following a rigorous judging process, the Whittington Health Children and Young People (CYP) Asthma Teams emerged as the winners for their collaborative work to make schools in Islington more Asthma Friendly and for their pioneering work to develop group consultations for children with viral-induced wheeze.
Asthma is the most common long-term condition in children and young people. Sadly, it still causes fatalities in children as well as high rates of school absenteeism. In 2015, there were 19 CYP asthma deaths (Royal College of Physicians, 2015), but it is thought that 90% of asthma deaths and 75% of A&E attendances for asthma can be avoided (Asthma UK, 2017).
The group consultations are offered to families of children who recently attended the Whittington Hospital Emergency Department for a ‘viral-induced wheeze’. 58% of parents reported that they learnt something new from their peers and 50% felt the review built their confidence to take control of their child’s health condition. Group consultations saved nursing time that can be used for other duties and led to a 31% reduction in missed appointments.
The group consultations were inspired by evidence that this approach can offer improved outcomes for adults with long term health conditions.
Ana Marote, who developed the group consultations project, said:
“In the beginning it was a hard slog as we had to change everything about the process involved in an outpatient appointment but the parents gave such positive feedback that we kept going. They spelt out the benefits to us: they said they were with people who understood their struggle and they could relate to each other; they said they felt less alone.”
Children and Young People spend the equivalent of 190 days a year in school and on average there are 3 children with asthma in each classroom of 30. The Asthma Friendly Schools project aims to improve care for children and young people aged between five and eighteen with asthma in Islington’s schools. This has been done by raising awareness of asthma with school staff and providing information, training and support. This project has enabled 80% of Islington schools to meet 5 key asthma friendly school standards with all of the schools receiving asthma training. The project was commissioned and supported by Islington Clinical Commissioning Group.
Karen Rodesano, who worked on the asthma friendly schools project, said:
”We started this project because 75% of young people told us they needed more support with their asthma in school. This project has improved the quality of life for CYP, their families and carers, makes them safer in school and reduces the impact of asthma on their daily lives.”
”We started this project because 75% of young people told us they needed more support with their asthma in school. This project has improved the quality of life for CYP, their families and carers, makes them safer in school and reduces the impact of asthma on their daily lives.”
Colette Datt, who also worked on the project, added:
“This project brings in all of the relevant partners together across the worlds of health and education to make schools safer for children with asthma and reduce asthma-related school absence.”
“This project brings in all of the relevant partners together across the worlds of health and education to make schools safer for children with asthma and reduce asthma-related school absence.”
Some feedback from young people who have taken part includes:
- “It has helped me have a better knowledge in how to manage my asthma”
- “I now understand my asthma better”
- “I didn’t know I needed to use a preventer”
Editor of Nursing Times, Steve Ford, said:
“The Nursing Times Awards showcase the innovation and best practice of nurses and midwives up and down the country, which I hope will be shared widely to improve care. The awards represent a great opportunity to celebrate all that is good about the nursing profession and I would like to personally congratulate all our winners and finalists.
“The Nursing Times Awards showcase the innovation and best practice of nurses and midwives up and down the country, which I hope will be shared widely to improve care. The awards represent a great opportunity to celebrate all that is good about the nursing profession and I would like to personally congratulate all our winners and finalists.
“Hearing about the ground-breaking work being done by nurses around the UK to improve patient care never ceases to amaze me. This is especially true at the moment given the workforce pressures that nursing staff are under in many places.
“Our awards come just a couple months before the start of the International Year of the Nurse and Midwife in 2020, which represents another huge opportunity to promote the great work of nursing staff everywhere.”
Discover the complete winners list and photos from the event at awards.nursingtimes.net/2019-winners.