End of life care team secure award shortlist
A local NHS Trust’s end of life care team has been recognised with a shortlisting at a national awards for their innovative guidance around oral health care in the last days of life.
The team from South West Yorkshire Partnership NHS Foundation Trust were shortlisted in the ‘Multidisciplinary Teamwork Award’ category at the International Journal of Palliative Nursing Awards.
The awards, in collaboration with Macmillan Cancer Support, celebrate achievement and excellence in the work of palliative care.
The end of life care team, in partnership with a local community Macmillan Nurse, were keen to create a standard guidance for health professionals to follow when providing oral hygiene for those in the last days of life. Working with representatives from all care settings in Barnsley, including members of the specialist palliative care team, end of life care team, a pharmacist, physiotherapist and lecturers from Sheffield Hallam University, they developed guidance based on research findings and best practice.
The team shared this guidance in a number of ways to ensure consistent care could be delivered to all patients regardless of diagnosis or setting. This included:
• Producing a poster and pocket guides featuring photos and information to be used by a range of health and social care staff.
• Developing an information leaflet to empower carers and families by understanding how to provide good oral hygiene and undertake their loved one’s care with increased confidence.
• Creating an education programme that has been rolled out across the health and social care workforce, along with an education programme within the local university educating and informing the next generation of nurses.
The end of life care team provides support and training to health and social care professionals in Barnsley, developing and co-ordinating systems to ensure that service providers recognise and deliver high quality end of life care.
Katie Yockney, practice educator with the end of life care team at the Trust, said: “We were absolutely delighted when we found out we had been shortlisted for the awards. The oral hygiene project has been ambitious and innovative in providing better clinical and technical knowledge with clear, informative and consistent guidance for health and social care staff.
“All those involved have been so committed to the project and for it to be recognised in this way is amazing. We are very proud of what we have produced and how it has, and will, impact on care.”
The winners will be announced at a ceremony in London on 14 September.