A fledgling elderly care unit at Good Hope Hospital has been recognised for its work in cutting the length of time frail and elderly patients spend in hospital by being named winners of an award founded to ensure the legacy of a former patient.
The Frailty Assessment Unit (FAU) at Good Hope, part of Heart of England NHS Foundation Trust, was this year’s recipient of the Jean Robinson Award, which is judged by Jean’s family who have been working with the hospital to improve standards in elderly care since her death in 2009.
Jean’s daughters Di Collins and Jan Gill presented the award to ward manager Lisa Smith and her team at a special presentation and spoke about how the award first started and why the FAU stood out as this year’s winner.
Di, from Tamworth, said: “After my mum died I got together with staff on the elderly care wards and have worked with them over the last six years to give a relatives point of view on how things can be improved. The award has been a way both to have a legacy for mum and to push the wards to keep making progress.
“When we came into visit all the wards to judge the award it was the first time that we had been on the FAU and we were very impressed. You could tell all the staff wanted to be here and there was such a nice feeling walking around.
“It is something totally different to what Good Hope has had before and you can understand the reasoning for having a unit such as this. Lisa’s passion for the job really comes across and she is a lovely person so it has been a pleasure to present the award to her and her team.”
Lisa Smith, ward manager of the FAU, said she was ‘delighted’ the unit had been recognised with the award and paid tribute to the rest of her team on the unit.
She said: “It’s a great honour to be given this award and I would like to thank the family for choosing us. My team has worked really hard since the unit opened last summer and I am proud of what we have built together.
“The FAU takes frail and elderly patients directly from the Emergency Department on arrival who are not acutely unwell, giving them a comprehensive geriatric assessment with the aim of getting them home quicker – ideally within 48 hours.
“It is not an exact science and patients may need longer stays and we accommodate for that. However, this new approach has cut down on the length of time people have to stay in hospital, the number of ward moves and readmissions which is making a real difference to patient experience and flow across the hospital.
“I came into nursing to make a difference so it has been a pleasure to lead a wonderful team in trying to do that for our patients and for this hospital.”
