It’s time for another news in brief round-up – let’s take a look at some of the stories that caught our eye recently.
New EPR launches for neonatal patients at Calderdale and Huddersfield
The neonatal unit at Calderdale Royal Hospital has recently gone live with electronic patient record, BadgerNet, which has been specifically designed for the unit’s neonatal requirements and supplements their existing Badger system.
The unit has previously launched Badger Video, which allows parents to be involved in their baby’s care via video link, with Calderdale and Huddersfield NHS Foundation Trust noting that this is “especially useful for parents who aren’t local to the hospital.”
It is hoped that the reduction in admin, particularly by nursing staff, will reduce workload and allow staff to focus their efforts on supporting babies and parents on the unit.
General manager Elena Gelsthorpe-Hill said: “This wouldn’t have been possible without our colleagues who have driven this project forward so quickly and smoothly and we look forward to the next phase of the project.”
New funding for technology-enabled care qualification
National Education for Scotland will be funding 50 candidates to study for the Professional Development Award (PDA) in Technology Enabled Care SCQF Level 7 from September 2023.
The PDA is targeted at candidates who are employed in social work, social care, health and housing organisations in a “frontline role” – including those working in care homes across the public, private and third sector. The qualification has been developed to help Scotland’s workforce gain the knowledge and skills required to embed technology-enabled care into health and care practice .
The self-directed award has been designed to support Scotland’s Digital Health and Care Strategy, and will be delivered online in partnership with UHI Perth College. Applications close at midnight on 31 August 2023; find out more here.
North East London launches self-management support website
A new website has been launched to provide patients across North East London with information and resources to support patients with self-management.
‘Wait well, Stay well’ is to provide advice for staying well mentally and physically whilst waiting for an appointment, along with offering guidance on current waiting times at local hospitals and answering questions patients may have about their treatment.
The website will also provide support and advice for patients to prepare for the procedure itself, as well as offering access to other local and national resources.
Morag Harvey, deputy director of planned care, said: ‘This is an important resource for patients and residents and a good example of collaboration between NHS North East London and our trust partners. We will continue to work together to ensure the information remains up to date and new resources are added.”
North West London ICS share online diabetes support
In similar news, North West London ICS has launched a new ‘Preventing Diabetes’ website to provide support and advice for people at risk of developing type 2 diabetes in the local area.
Following a blood test, patients in NW London who are shown to be at risk of developing type 2 diabetes will be directed to the new website, where they will register and be able to see a personalised healthcare dashboard, displaying their blood pressure, latest blood results, blood glucose and cholesterol. The dashboard offers advice on improving health and preventing type 2 diabetes, with further support available on the site including meal plans, educational courses and practical advice to help users understand how to make long-term positive changes.
Residents will be able to access two eLearning courses, ‘Introduction to type 2 prevention’ and ‘Understanding high risk of type 2,’ which retrospectively provide at-risk patients with information about the diagnosis and steps they can take to prevent it. The latter also covers lifestyle factors that can increase the risk of the condition, along with advice on how to implement necessary changes.
Diverse Data initiative seeks community feedback on maternal health research
The Diverse Data initiative is seeking expressions of interest regarding the development and delivery of community workshops exploring cultural barriers to participation in maternal genomic health research.
The initiative focuses on reducing health inequalities and improving patient outcomes within genomic medicine, and is looking for community health advocates, community facilitators, grassroots organisations, charities or research agencies who may be interested in taking part.
The workshops are intended to gather feedback on questions such as how participants feel about sharing personal and genetic information with researchers, any potential cultural or traditional beliefs within the community regarding pre-term births or birth complications, and how researchers could better engage with the community in the research design process from the beginning.
Interested parties are encouraged to get in touch by 7 September; more information can be found here.
