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Wards at Royal
receive recognition for support of older people
2 wards at the Royal
Liverpool University Hospital are among 5 in the country to become
the first to receive a quality mark hailing the support given to
older patients.
Wards 2X and 2Y have been recognised with the Elder Friendly Quality
Mark, run by the Royal College of Psychiatrists and developed with
the Royal College of Physicians, Royal College of Nursing and
British Geriatrics Society. It encourages hospital wards to improve
the quality of care for older people and uses patient feedback to
recognise good care.
The initiative was set up in response to reports, such as the
Francis Inquiry Report, which highlighted the need for improvements
in the quality of care among wards.
Patients over 65 were asked for feedback, including their
experiences of comfort, food and drink, support from staff, getting
help when needed, and privacy and dignity. They were also asked if
they would be happy if a friend or family member was cared for on
the ward.
To achieve the Quality Mark wards were assessed for areas of
achievement and what could be improved. They also had to demonstrate
continued focus on improving care for older people. Information was
collected from patients, carers and visitors, ward staff and members
of the multi-disciplinary team, the ward manager, a lead consultant
working on the ward, hospital governors and the senior managers of
the trust.
The wards' efforts to achieve the quality mark began in July 2012.
Lisa Grant, chief nurse at the Royal Liverpool and Broadgreen
University Hospitals NHS Trust, said:- "Staff attended study
sessions, observed care on each other's wards, handed out patient
and staff questionnaires and had visits from hospital governors.
This enabled us to carry on to the next stage. The trust has made
environmental changes such as introducing day and time clocks, and
different lighting. The positive patient feedback we had encouraged
us to strive to do even better and we have improved communication
with patients, family and all team members."
Lisa said much has been done to improve care for patients with
dementia. She added:- "Specialist training on dementia is
provided to all nursing staff. It outlines symptoms of dementia,
early detection and how to manage challenging behaviour. A 'This is Me'
document, which outlines a patient's likes and dislikes, their
family and home life and their hobbies and interests, is kept with
patients wherever they are being cared for. We also have specially
trained volunteers who will sit with patients with dementia and keep
them occupied with games or historical items like ration books to
help stimulate conversations."
The award is for 3 years with an interim review. Wards joining the
quality ward mark scheme commit to continuous focus on improving
essential care based on feedback from patients.
Professor Mike Crawford, director of the Royal College of
Psychiatrists Centre for Quality Improvement, the Royal College of
Psychiatrists, said:- "At a time when many general hospitals
are providing poor quality care to frail older people, it is great
to see the work that staff have done on these five wards to make
sure that they properly look after their most vulnerable patients.
We hope that other teams will follow the excellent work being done
on these wards and start to provide frail elderly patients with the
high quality of care they deserve."
Dr Anita Donley, clinical vice president of the Royal College of
Physicians, said:- "Congratulations to the wards who are the
first to achieve the Elder friendly quality ward mark. The Elder
Friendly Quality Ward mark measures aspects of care, such as
comfort, nutrition and support given by staff. Participating in a
scheme such as this shows commitment to the quality of care provided
to patients. Wards achieving this quality ward mark are places where
we listen to patients, carers and staff; actively encourage
feedback, and act on the information in order to drive improvement."
£23m awarded to
Liverpool City Region
THE Liverpool City Region
has today been awarded £23 million from the government's Regional
Growth Fund. 3 companies in the region will benefit from the
investment, which will be used to develop the business as well as
create more than 400 new jobs - Glen Dimplex Home Appliances Ltd in
Prescot, Redx Pharma Ltd in Liverpool and Unilever UK Central
Resources in Port Sunlight.
Glen Dimplex is planning to significantly increase its manufacturing
commitment in Merseyside for brands such as Stoves, Belling and New
World, as well as develop medical refrigeration applications. The
project is expected to create up to 300 jobs.
Redx Pharma will create a new pharmaceutical research and
development centre for metabolic disease alongside its existing
facilities for cancer. It is expected to create 107 new jobs. The
project will focus on new therapies in areas of high need in an
ageing and increasingly overweight population, such as
cardiovascular disease, inflammation and diabetes.
Unilever will use the funding to grow its product design
capabilities in Port Sunlight, working closely with the University
of Liverpool, University of Manchester and Sci-Tech Daresbury.
Councillor Phil Davies, Chair of the Liverpool City Region Combined
Authority said:- "This is a fantastic boost for our region.
One of our key objectives for the Liverpool City Region Combined
Authority is to grow the economy and create jobs and today's
investment is a fantastic example of what can be achieved. By
working together, I am confident that we will see many more
investments like these in the region which will help the Liverpool
City Region grow and prosper." |
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Liverpool Scare
City Has Set the Stage for a Terrifying October in Newsham Park
ON the evening of Wednesday,
9 April 2014 a hundred guests, including members of the press and
local business people, gathered at the old Royal Liverpool Seaman's
Orphanage in Newsham Park for taster of the fearful frights that lie
in store for visitors to the foreboding, Gothic building when it
transformed into Liverpool Scare City this October.
Previously a hospital and prior to that a home for orphaned
children, the building has stood empty since the late 1990's. This
year, for 1 month only, the almost definitely haunted, most
certainly menacing, Victorian building will be transformed into the
City's biggest and best haunted attraction.
Tours of Liverpool Scare City will begin on Friday, 3 October 2014, and run
6 days per week (Tuesday to Sunday) for the rest of the month, taking
visitors on a journey into the intriguing past of one of Liverpool's
most impressive, forgotten buildings.
Opened by HRH the Duke of
Edinburgh in 1874, at its height the orphanage was home to almost
400 children. Later, when it became Newsham Park Hospital in the
1950's, there were beds for 400 patients. The next chapter in the
building's history came in 1992, when Rainhill Lunatic Asylum closed
down and its operations transferred, filling 90% of the Newsham Park
site with severely mentally ill patients. Largely untouched for
years, the building still displays signs of its former inhabitants.
The 'punishment corridor' – a narrow passageway on an upper
floor - is fitted with cubby holes where naughty orphans were
incarcerated for hours at a time. The wards and the morgue remain
intact and the sprawling site is connected by winding staircases
with anti-suicide grills that provide a further chilling reminder of
its past.
Guests at the launch event were treated to a drinks reception before
being lead away for a tiny, terrifying taste of things to come. By
the time the dark nights roll around again, Liverpool Scare City
will comprise three themed tours, exploring all three eras of the
building's history. Using actors, sets and the dramatic location
itself visitors will experience the most hair raising tales that the
building has to offer.
Tony Carter, Director of Liverpool
Scare City, said:- "We are really excited to be launching
Liverpool Scare City and took great pleasure in taking our first
unsuspecting guests round to tour the sites and screams on
Wednesday!
The old Seaman's Orphanage is a huge, impressive building just a
stone's throw from the City centre that has been forgotten for way
too long. In October we will be injecting it with a new lease of
life... and death... so that the people of Liverpool can experience
it in all its glory for the first time ever in its history."
Liverpool Scare City is haunted attraction surpassing anything that
the City has seen before in size, scope and scares! Tickets are now
available for purchase on
liverpoolscareCity.com. Each ticket entitles
the holder to take all three tours, The Orphanage, The Hospital and
The Asylum; in one night during October 2014. A full bar and
various food and drink stalls are available between tours. Tickets
are available for the early bird price of £14.95 until the end of
July 2014.
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