| Welcome to the programme newsletter | Welcome to the latest edition of Humber Acute Services programme stakeholder newsletter. In it you'll find the latest news and updates about the programme, alongside information about how you can get involved, share your ideas or ask questions.
In the next few issues of our newsletter, we want to highlight some of the developments that are taking place, both in and outside of our hospitals, that contribute to the programme’s vision for the future. Some are national programmes others are local initiatives, but in all cases, we are aligning our work with these wider changes. This issue focuses on Paediatric Care. | |
| SPOTLIGHT ON - Paediatrics |
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Children and young people told us through our survey that being at home and being able to go to sleep in their own bed was one of the top things that made them feel better when they are poorly. The Hospital at Home service, which is currently being piloted in North East Lincolnshire, is helping to make that a reality by bringing the hospital to the child’s home.
The service provides care in a patient’s home, avoiding the need for them to be admitted into a hospital ward. The care is administered by an experienced healthcare worker for acute conditions for short periods of time (under 72 hours). The service has a paediatric focus currently providing services for babies and children up to the age of 16; this extends to the age of 18 if they have a long-term health condition and are under the care of a paediatrician.
The aims of the Hospital at Home service are to:
- Provide care for children in their homes where they are more likely to make a swifter recovery
- To reduce the level of acute medical referrals to a hospital setting e.g. the Paediatric Assessment Unit (PAU) and the Emergency Department
- Support early discharge from hospital
- Deliver a model of care that meets the vision of the Humber Acute Services Programme and the Humber and North Yorkshire Integrated Care System for healthcare services, by ensuring more people can be treated at or close to their own home.
Children make up more than a quarter of Emergency Department (ED) attendances across the UK, usually having minor illnesses that require little to no medical intervention. Hospital at Home will help to contribute to reducing ED attendances and increase capacity for children who need to attend hospital. The Hospital at Home team are to integrate with the existing Children’s Community Nursing (CCN) team, and have staff specifically trained for the higher acuity of care to be provided.
Hospital at Home referrals for North East Lincolnshire are currently taken through North East Lincolnshire Primary Care Networks, out of hours GPs, A&E, the Rainforest Assessment Unit and the Rainforest Ward at Diana Princess of Wales Hospital, Grimsby. Referrals can be made for same day response and currently cover conditions/symptoms such as bronchiolitis, wheeze, croup, diarrhoea, vomiting, fever and neonatal jaundice. The service is currently ensuring that on average 12-15 children per week are not having to access a hospital service (this represents 15% of PAU attendances or 2/3rds of all paediatric overnight admissions). Rolling this out successfully across the Humber is expected to result in at least 1,117 children a year (around a quarter of admissions) across the Humber being seen and treated in their own home instead of attending an Emergency Department or being admitted to hospital.
The service has received excellent feedback from patients, parents and carers, with 97% of users of the service surveyed (64 in total) declaring their overall experience ‘outstanding’ and the remaining 3% ‘very good’.
“The service was invaluable, and I am convinced my child recovered much quicker being at home. He was able to be more settled and relaxed. The nurses were amazing reassuring us and providing outstanding care. Nothing was too much trouble and the (H@H) nurse provided lots of useful information and answered my concerns. Her manner with us was so kind and caring.”
Staff members have also praised the service, saying:
"Excellent service - gives us confidence in sending children home that we would normally admit for further observation."
"Really good service - Can see parents visibly relax when we tell them they are going to have further support at home."
The children's community nursing team "noticed a reduction in our workload - less phone calls so can focus on other patients" and medics within the Emergency Department "noticed a reduction in A&E attendances particularly early on during bronch season."
Overall as well as excellent feedback from families, the ability to care for children in their familiar environment has many added benefits, and has also supported in-hospital services by freeing up capacity for other patients to be seen.
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| Our Engagement with Children and Young People |
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“Can’t see the trees, can’t play with my kitchen and can’t go to nursery”
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“I want to be kept safe”, “I don’t like having to stay in the same room”, “The nurses are always there making sure you are ok and feeling better”
These are some of things that children and young people told us were important to them if they need to be cared for in one of our hospitals.
Throughout November and December 2021, we actively listened to children and young people, their parents, carers and other important adults in their life about what was important to them when visiting hospital. We wanted to know what they liked, what they didn’t like and what we could do differently to make them feel better quickly.
To ensure our approach was suited to children of all age groups, we designed two booklets; one for younger children (aged 2-10) and the second for older children/young people (aged 11-18). We designed and tested out the booklets with a peer support group with children of a variety of ages.
The booklet for younger children captured feedback in a variety of creative ways including drawings, word searches, interactive activities and space to leave comments. For older children/young people we produced a bespoke questionnaire with simplified questions and open space for free text or drawings. The questions asked were similar in theme but worded and presented in different ways to make sure they were understandable for all ages.
In total, 63 children and young people aged 2 to 18 years participated and shared their views and 277 parents and carers responded to the online questionnaire.
Some key findings that have influenced the development of potential models of care for paediatric services include:
- Being kept safe and well looked after was the most important thing to children and young people and for their parents, carers and guardians.
- Accessibility and experience were also very important (e.g. waiting times, car parking, local services).
- Toys and technology were frequently mentioned due to children and young people often feeling bored and having long waiting periods with no means of amusement.
- Home comforts including their own bed and cuddles from their family members were a key theme in relation to what children felt would make them feel better.
- Better communication – clear and consistent information presented in an understandable way was important to both children and young people and parents and carers.
We also created a survey and campaign to give parents, carers and other important adults in their life an opportunity to share their perspectives as well. Positive feedback received included workforce – praising kind, compassionate and caring staff; being seen quickly – praising efficient, well run services with minimal waiting times for appointments and clinical outcomes – things went well for them or their family member, communication was good and they were satisfied with the care they received
We will continue to undertake engagement that targets specific demographics and groups as we seek to ensure everyone has the opportunity to have their say. If you would like to read the Children and Young People’s Feedback Report please click here. To read the Parents, Carers and Guardians Feedback Report please click here.
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Can you help?
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We have been listening to feedback and ideas from people across the Humber over the past 18 months and these have really helped to influence our emerging ideas.
As we develop these ideas for how services could look in the future, we will be continuing to reach out to particular groups within our community, to help us better understand how they may be impacted by any potential changes to acute hospital services. Throughout our work we are seeking to listen to all communities and individuals and reduce health inequalities in the Humber area.
The groups we would particularly like to engage with include:
- People living with serious and enduring mental illness
- People living with poor mental health, including parents and carers.
- Adults and children with learning disabilities or difficulties, including parents and carers.
- People from black, Asian or minority ethnic backgrounds
- People who identify as LGBTQ+
- People affected by homelessness.
How can you help?
- Do you work with or support any of these groups, or know someone who does?
- Do you know of any pre-existing groups we could attend?
- Would you like to be involved and represent the voices of the people you work with?
If you answer 'yes' to any of the above, then please click here to register your interest in hosting or supporting a focus group or other engagement activity over the coming months.
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Ask A Question
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You can ask a question about any aspect of the programme at any time by using the online question portal or by sending an email.
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We launched our revamped Humber Acute Services programme newsletter in July 2021. Each newsletter includes a range of information about the programme and you can access previous editions by clicking the links below:
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