A series of films which aim to help care home staff keep their residents happy, healthy and hydrated has been launched today.
The six short animations offer handy hints and link to additional resources available through the award-winning Good Hydration! initiative.
Last night the project won the Quality Improvement Initiative of the Year prize at the HSJ Patient Safety Awards where it was also shortlisted in two other categories.
The judges said: “The panel were unanimous in their decision that this apparently simple project has such a positive impact on patient outcome and is an impressive example of how a simple idea could have a huge impact beyond what the team hoped to initially achieve.”
Last month the Good Hydration! initiative won the NICE Shared Learning award and in 2017 it received the Gold Award at the PrescQIPP Innovation Awards.
Katie Lean, who leads the Good Hydration! initiative at Oxford AHSN, said: “In a little over ten minutes these videos offer lots of simple practical tips for care home staff. They will help them to focus on the importance of hydration and better health for older people.”
Sundus Jawad, a care homes support pharmacist in east Berkshire, said: “We’ve demonstrated that introducing structured drinks rounds and educating care staff around the importance of good hydration improves patient outcomes and significantly reduces risk of urinary tract infections. That’s really good news for residents who are less likely to spend time in hospital or take additional medication as a result.”
Julie Bignell, a care home manager, said: “The clips are brilliant and very easy to understand by any member of the team and not just clinical staff.”
Key elements of the Good Hydration! initiative have been developed with care home staff and residents.
A member of care home staff said: “The training has given us understanding of why it’s important to ensure that residents have enough fluids – it’s looking at the whole system, not just a drink.”