Developing Innovative Volunteer Services in the NHS

Helpforce | February 2019 | Developing Innovative Volunteer Services in the NHS 

This report summarises the key Insight and Impact findings from the five hospital trusts in the first Helpforce innovators programme. The publication of this report coincides with the launch of Helpforce’s new Volunteering Innovators Programme. 

Over the next 18 months, Helpforce will work with 12 new NHS hospital trusts (with 10 being funded by NHS England and two by the Royal Voluntary Service) to develop high-impact volunteer innovations that will be refined and shared to help other trusts in the UK adopt effective volunteer services.

Image source: helpforce.community

The ten funded by the NHS England grant will each receive a £75,000 grant, and all twelve will have access to a range of supporting services, digital tools, resources and guidance. The trusts, who were chosen through a competitive process which received 115 applications from 90 trusts, will focus on a range of specific volunteer roles. The volunteer interventions have been identified as those which could make the most impact if refined, tested and scaled to other NHS settings.

In order to support continuous improvement and impact management, the trusts collected both insights data, which is predominantly anecdotal and observational, and impact data, which is designed to measure impact in a more systematic, robust way. Insight gathering took precedence during the early parts of the project, especially as the trusts were establishing their new interventions and learning how to run and measure their projects. Impact work still played a role in this early stage – mainly through talking with patients, staff and volunteers, as well as capturing data from these stakeholders through surveys  (Source: Helpforce).

See also:

Helpforce  Launching our Volunteer Innovators Programme and two new reports

In the news: How NHS workers really DO calm nerves and boost care: Hospital volunteers help prevent malnutrition, falls and loneliness, research shows

University of Sheffield supports only second scanner of its kind in the UK for Sheffield Children’s Hospital

University of Sheffield | January 2019 | University of Sheffield supports only second scanner of its kind in the UK for Sheffield Children’s Hospital

The University of Sheffield has helped fund a life-changing EOS scanner to help young patients at Sheffield Children’s Hospital, only the second of its kind for children in the UK. 

Based on a Nobel prize-winning invention, EOS provides an ultra-low dose 2D and 3D digital X-ray system and will hugely improve the diagnosis and treatment of orthopaedic patients. Patients can sit or stand, with a complete head-to-toe image provided in 15 seconds or less to provide frontal and lateral radiology/ radiography image

The machine also ensures an 80% reduction in X-ray exposure, reduced waiting times and improved image quality enabling more accurate assessments and surgical planning. It will enhance the already world-leading spinal service at Sheffield Children’s Hospital, which became the first hospital in Europe last year to perform ground-breaking ‘trolley’ surgery to correct a spine curvature.

The machine was made possible thanks to a donation from the Morrisons Foundation, a charity set up by the supermarket, and large donations from The University of Sheffield and David and Jean Fyfe’s 2018 Daffodil Ball in aid of The Children’s Hospital Charity.

The new equipment will particularly aid those patients requiring limb and spine curvature examinations, who will now be able to get a much clearer X-ray. The reduction in radiation exposure will also help those requiring regular scans, such as scoliosis spine patients.

John Somers, Chief Executive of Sheffield Children’s NHS Foundation Trust, said “We are incredibly grateful to the people who support our work here at Sheffield Children’s. Our staff are amazing, providing specialist care with compassion every day. But with the latest equipment and donor-funded facilities, we can go even further to help children both locally and nationally.” (Source: University of Sheffield)

Read the full press release  University of Sheffield supports only second scanner of its kind in the UK for Sheffield Children’s Hospital 

Introducing a Children’s Health Smartphone App at Walsall Healthcare NHS Trust

NHS | January 2019 | Introducing a Children’s Health Smartphone App at Walsall Healthcare NHS Trust

NHS England shares a case study that considers the impact of a smartphone app  on the development and implementation of a children’s health smartphone application. The app has significantly improved patient, carer and family experience as well as better use of resources locally (Source: NHS England).

Read the full case study at NHS England 

Blueprint for Complex Care

National Center for Complex Health and Social Needs, Center for Health Care Strategies, and Institute for Healthcare Improvement| 2018 | Blueprint for Complex Care: Advancing the Field of Care for Individuals with Complex Health and Social Needs.

Blueprint for Complex Care: Advancing the Field of Care for Individuals with Complex Health and Social Needs is a report from the US. It draws on experts and frontline stakeholders across the US,  where organisations are developing new models for complex care; recognising that innovators often pursue initiatives in isolation from one another. The report provides a strategic plan to support  innovations and accelerate opportunities to improve care for individuals with complex health and social needs. 

It assesses the current state of the complex care field and presents recommendations to help the field reach its full potential for improving care delivery (Source: National Center for Complex Health and Social Needs, Center for Health Care Strategies, and Institute for Healthcare Improvement).

To access the guidance, (free) registration) is required here

Further details at The National Center 

FREE NHS WiFi at Crystal Peaks Medical Centre

NHS England | November 2018 | NHS WiFi at Crystal Peaks Medical Centre

Crystal Peaks Medical Centre is a  GP practice in a busy retail park in Sheffield; it installed NHS WiFi in July 2018,  NHS England have now produced a case study about this innovation and video interview with Dr Kirsty Gillgrass, a GP Partner at the practice. There are approximately 7,000 patients registered with the practice. It is a training practice with 5 GP partners and a large multi disciplinary primary care team. 

The practice, along with other practices in the neighbourhood, is applying for digital inclusion funding to encourage digitally excluded patients to take charge of their health and wellbeing and make use of patient online services.

Practice staff will encourage patients to sign-up for patient online services while in the waiting room, and staff will be able to use mobile devices to demonstrate to patients how to book appointments online and order repeat prescriptions.

Having access to free WiFi can also reduce anxiety for patients before their appointment. Being able to make good use of their time by accessing emails, checking social media or even downloading an ebook to calm their nerves can improve the patient experience (Source: NHS England).

The future of healthcare: digital, data and technology in health and care

This policy paper outlines what is needed to enable the health and care system to make the best use of technology to support preventative, predictive and personalised care  | Department of Health and Social Care

This document proposes a modern technology architecture and a set of guiding principles that will together be the foundation for a new generation of digital services designed to meet the needs of all users – for the workforce and for patients and people who use care services.

The vision sets out how digital services and IT systems will need to meet a clear set of open standards to ensure they can talk to each other and be replaced when better technologies become available. A focus on putting user needs first and setting standards at the centre will enable local organisations to manage their use of technology and spread and support innovation wherever it comes from.

The paper concludes: “By harnessing the power of technology and creating an environment to enable innovation, we can manage the growing demand for services and create the secure and sustainable future for the NHS and social care system that we all want to see”.

Full detail: The future of healthcare: our vision for digital, data and technology in health and care

 

 

Wellcome funding available for innovative health research

Wellcome | Innovator Awards 

Researchers who are transforming great ideas into healthcare innovations that could have a significant impact on human health are eligible to apply for funding awards from the Wellcome Trust. The awards are up to £500,000, or up to £750,000 for multidisciplinary collaborations. 

Individuals and teams from not-for-profit and commercial organisations can apply.

 

You can work in any scientific discipline, including a discipline outside life sciences. You can work on any type of technology. Examples of technologies include:

• therapeutics (small molecules or biologics)
• vaccines
• devices
• diagnostics
• regenerative medicine.

The work that you propose must be essential for developing your healthcare innovation (Source:  Wellcome).
Full details available from Wellcome