Getting a grip on high risk older inpatients with low grip strength -Dr Kinda Ibrahim and Dr Helen Roberts, Associate Professor in Geriatric Medicine

Our muscles play an important role in our health and grip strength is a good way of measuring how well our muscles are doing. Our grip strength builds through young adulthood to reach its peak in our 30s after which it gradually tails away. It is a reliable and valid way of evaluating someone’s hand strength, which in turns provides an objective measure of the skeletal muscle strength and function in their whole body.

Evidence Brief – 12 hour shifts: Nurse burnout, job satisfaction & intention to leave – by Chiara Dall’ora

Job satisfaction and burnout in the nursing workforce are global concerns. Not only do job satisfaction and burnout impact on the quality and safety of care, but job satisfaction is also a factor in nurses’ decisions to stay or leave their jobs. Shift patterns may be an important aspect influencing wellbeing and satisfaction among nurses. Many hospitals worldwide are moving to 12 hour shifts in an effort to improve efficiency and cope with nursing shortages. But what is the effect of these work patterns on the wellbeing of nurses working on hospital wards? In this digest we report on the results of a study performed in 12 European countries exploring whether 12 hour shifts are associated with burnout, job satisfaction and intention to leave the job.

I want to be alone… single rooms and fundamental care – Professor Peter Griffiths, University of Southampton

Last month saw the publication by the NIHR of the final report on our study evaluating England’s first 100% single room hospital at Pembury, part of the Maidstone and Tunbridge wells trust, which opened in 2011 (1).

Where do people want to draw the line? Making shared decisions about treatment. Professor Alison Richardson

Professor Alison Richardson is Clinical Professor of Cancer Nursing and End of Life Care at the University of Southampton and University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust

Many patients whose condition becomes worse during their stay in hospital face uncertainty about the likelihood of recovery. For patients, families and healthcare professionals deciding on the best thing to do can be hard.

Involving patients and the public in research: Reflecting back and looking ahead

By Claire Ballinger and Mark Stafford-Watson – Chairs, Wessex Inclusion in Service Design and Delivery (WISeRD) group

It’s the end of our first year in CLAHRC Wessex, we have been thinking about our progress in involving patients and the public in our work (or PPI as it’s called), and reviewing where our focus should be for the coming year.  We have settled on five strategic aims:

• Develop our capacity for patient and public involvement (PPI) in research and implementation programmes
• Promote our CLAHRC Wessex activities to the wider public (public engagement)
• Evolve and measure ways to include patients and the public to identify research priorities
• Develop a group of patient and public researchers
• Measure the impact of patient and public involvement within CLAHRC Wessex

Appetising research – How we’re Introducing Volunteer Mealtime Assistants for older inpatients across University Hospital Southampton

Dr Helen Roberts is Associate Professor in Geriatric Medicine and Theme 2 lead for Improving Routine Care for Ageing and Dementia for NIHR CLAHRC Wessex

Poor nutrition in hospital inpatients is a problem that is becoming increasingly recognised both in the UK and worldwide, and requires a multifaceted approach, including protected meal times, red trays and protein and energy supplementation as required. One factor that particularly affects older inpatients is the amount of assistance they receive at mealtimes. Time-pressured nursing staff may not have the time they need to help patients with their meals.