What are we missing here? (Are at risk older people spotted early enough in hospital?) – Dr Kinda Ibrahim, Research Fellow at Academic Geriatric Medicine

Nearly two thirds (65%) of people admitted to hospital in the UK are aged over 65 years old. Many of them are frail and at high risk of poor healthcare outcomes – like staying longer in hospital, reduced physical abilities, becoming dependant, going to a care home, and even death.

National recommendations suggest that these high-risk older individuals should be routinely identified when they are admitted to hospital to allow healthcare teams to provide appropriate individual care that meets patient’s needs (1).  It is unclear whether and how those people are identified in hospital. Therefore our study looked at the current practice in one hospital with regard to identification of patients at high-risk of poor healthcare outcomes. To do that, we reviewed a random sample of patient’s clinical notes and interviewed staff members who worked at five acute medicine for older people wards (2).

Dementia care at meal times in acute hospitals – Naomi Gallant

Almost a year on from my last post here and I’ve done a lot of work on my developing my research proposal – reading, learning, literature reviewing – but sadly not a lot has changed for people with dementia in acute hospitals. My desire to improve the quality of care, especially at meal times has certainly grown.

Maths without equations: Dr Tom Monks insights into patient flow from queuing theory

Previously I have written about using a detailed computer model to ask ‘what-if’ an emergency department could be run differently.   Hidden away in complex models like these are important rules of thumb that tell us how to efficiently manage patient flow.

Why we need to deal with the realities of Dementia in our hospitals – Dr Jackie Bridges Associate Professor, Older People’s and Dementia Care

Dr Jackie Bridges – Associate Professor, Older People’s and Dementia Care, Faculty of Heath Sciences at the University of Southampton

When people with dementia get admitted to hospital, their need for fundamental care can be high. Everyone coming in to hospital wants to be treated with respect and dignity by health care workers who have the time, resources and training needed to keep them safe and well cared for.  But having dementia can put people at higher risk of not having these needs met.

Research shows nurses are short on time not compassion – Jane Ball

Research shows nurses are short on time, not compassion

Jane Ball, University of Southampton

For the past 50 years, May 12 – Florence Nightingale’s birthday – has been celebrated around the world as “International Nurses Day”. But who exactly is celebrating nursing in 2015, when nurses appear to be under constant criticism and their morale is at an all-time low?

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).

What are the fresh ideas to reduce A&E overcrowding? Dr Tom Monks CLAHRC Wessex Methodological Hub

Spring.  The headlines about A&E overcrowding are beginning to disappear just as a fresh wave of news reports burst forth with the NHS priorities for the next government.  We now have the luxury of a brief respite to reflect on how we can improve the lot of our hospital A&E’s before the seasonal cycle repeats itself.  I have spent my winter looking at A&E data examining the question – could the answer to A&E attendance lie in providing GP appointments for urgent – but non-emergency – care at the weekend?

Can we discuss end of life care with patients with COPD?

Nuno Caixinha Tavares – Staff Nurse at Queen Alexandra Hospital
Clinical Academic Fellow in the University of Southampton
NIHR CLAHRC Wessex – Theme 1 – Integrated Respiratory Care

I’m Nuno Tavares, a staff nurse at Queen Alexandra Hospital and I’m also a PhD student carrying out research for NIHR CLAHRC Wessex and Portsmouth Hospitals NHS Trust. My research is about improving end of life care for patients with COPD.

Tackling operational problems in health care using modelling and simulation – Dr Tom Monks

NHS clinical commissioning groups across the UK are all focused on improving patient care while facing the pressures of an aging population, increasing volumes of patients with multiple complex health problems and the stark political reality of the need to cut costs. 

The complexity of these decisions and how to improve care is often enormously underestimated in the popular media. Take for example, the waiting time performance of accident and emergency (A&E) departments in the UK.