|
The Ward 17 nursing team at Milton Keynes Hospital NHS Foundation Trust won the much sought after ‘Nursing Team of the Year’ award at the Nursing Times Awards 2009, on Wednesday 18 November at London's Park Lane Hilton Hotel.
The awards celebrate the major contribution to healthcare made by the nursing profession and reward nurses whose outstanding work achieves excellence in nursing practice and patient care.
Tony Halton, Director of Nursing at Milton Keynes Hospital, said: "I am delighted that the Ward 17 team has been selected as the best nursing team in the country in the Nursing Times Awards 2009. This is a fantastic achievement. It is excellent that nurses from Milton Keynes Hospital have won this prestigious national award."
"The judges commended the team on the way it has developed and works together. The team was praised for the high value and encouragement given to every member of the team, enabling innovations and ideas about patient care to be taken forward."
"We have great nursing and midwifery teams across the Trust, and this award is representative of the high quality of staff at Milton Keynes Hospital."
Caroline Middleton, Sister on Ward 17 at Milton Keynes Hospital, added: "I am so proud of the Ward 17 team. I am delighted that our hard has been recognised, and that we have been chosen by the Nursing Times Awards as 'Team of the Year'."
The Red Water Jug scheme, which helps identify patients who require help with their fluid intake, both devised and implemented by Ward 17 staff, has been commended nationally and internationally.
Milton Keynes Hospital Health Care Assistants, Sue Dearlove and Marie Turney, came up with the simple, but innovative idea, to help ensure that patients are adequately hydrated.
According to national NHS figures many people who come into hospital are already dehydrated. Adequate hydration, as well as good nutrition, is essential for good health and for a patient's recovery. The red jug scheme is a simple way of ensuring that patients get help when they need it, to help prevent dehydration and to promote recovery.
The scheme is also helping to improve the dignity of frail people, as the design of the new water jugs means that they are lighter and easier for people to handle, so patients are more able to pour their own drinks. The red cups are also designed to enable easier grasp of the handle. Feedback from patients and relatives has been tremendously positive.
The Red Water Jug Scheme was formally launched by Dame Christine Beasley, Chief Nursing Officer for England, as one of eight "High Impact Actions for Nursing and Midwifery", published nationally last Thursday.
The eight national actions were selected from over 700 ideas from trusts around the country. The report estimates that up to £7.3bn could be saved a year if patients were properly nourished and hydrated when in hospital or care homes, and the Milton Keynes Hospital Red Water Jug Scheme is central in the plan to improve patient care and effectiveness on a national level.
 |
