PATCH funds three palliative care courses for band 5 nurses in Glasgow hospitals
By George Allison [CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0)], from Wikimedia Commons, original modified
Following a successful first course in 2018, PATCH is funding two further nursing courses in 2019.
The courses were developed and delivered by NHS Greater Glasgow & Clyde, the Prince & Princess of Wales Hospice, and Glasgow Caledonian University, with support from PATCH funding to cover the “backfill” for nurses. During the 5-day course, the nurses learn about symptom assessment and management, with 15 Band 5 nurses attending each session. By the end of 2019, the training will have been delivered to 45 nurses.
In order to take part, each nursing applicant had to submit a 250 word statement indicating why they would like to undertake the module and how it would help their practice, as well as evidence of their senior ward nurse support. The first course was overbooked and those attending included nurses from many different acute settings: respiratory medicine, general surgery, emergency medicine, medicine for the elderly, palliative care, vascular medicine, renal, neurology, ENT, endocrinology, gastroenterology and urology.
The course was evaluated midway, on completion and three months later.
Midway through the course a participant from Queen Elizabeth University Hospital commented:
This has been so valuable in reminding me, us really, how important our job is in the hospital setting and that we are all already palliative care nurses. A palliative approach is an escalation not a de-escalation – I loved that and am shamelessly stealing it.
When interviewed three months later as part of the evaluation, another participant commented:
I think they have a person who is better trained looking after them. I can now give myself rather than find someone else.
After the first course, all 15 nurses said they would recommend the course to their colleagues.
Congratulations to Claire O’Neill, lead palliative care nurse Greater Glasgow and Clyde and to her enthusiastic colleagues Elaine O’Donnell and Liz Smith, practice development facilitators for palliative care NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde and the Prince and Princess of Wales Hospice, Glasgow respectively.
For further details of the course and its evaluation please contact Elaine.O’Donnell@ggc.scot.nhs.uk.