A PASSION FOR QUALITY CARE
NOTICE BOARD
Nurse turned inspector at the Care Quality Commission (CQC) Kim Handel has a busy schedule. Recently, she joined a team of up to 40 people for a four-day assessment of a major NHS acute trust before visiting a community hospital to check agreed improvements and then on to an inspection at a local ambulance trust. Ms Handel, who joined the CQC as an inspector two years ago, describes the role as ‘fascinating’. ‘After more than 30 years working in NHS and independent hospitals, I decided I wanted a change,’ she says. ‘This is such a varied role.’ The former hospital chief nurse is one of about 2,300 CQC staff, of whom 210 are in the commission’s hospitals sector. She oversees a portfolio of around 30 NHS acute and community trusts, private hospitals and clinics in Hertfordshire and the West Midlands. Inspections, producing reports and undertaking follow-up visits take up most of her time, but Ms Handel also manages safeguarding issues and calls
DAVID GEE
Nurse Kim Handel spoke to Tamsin Newton Snow about her fascinating and varied role as an inspector with the Care Quality Commission
Kim Handel: skills of an inspector include respect and the ability to put people at ease
from the public relating to services on her patch. The CQC is undertaking the most in-depth round of inspections ever carried out in English hospitals. Around 70 acute trusts have been assessed and rated by inspection teams made up of between 20 to 40 people, with the remaining 92 to be inspected by the end of this year. Ms Handel leads a team looking at one of eight services. Inspectors use a template for carrying out inspections and
Practice development The Foundation of Nursing Studies will hold a practice development school from April 13-17 at Herstmonceux Castle in Hailsham, East Sussex. Fostering a Culture of Effectiveness through Practice is designed for health and social care practitioners who are influential in the transformation of care and services so that they are person-centred, safe and effective. www.fons.org Haematology The Haematology Nurses and Healthcare Professionals Group (HNHCP) has been established to support nurses and other healthcare professionals working in haematology. Members include professionals from centres and institutions caring for patients with haematological disorders, cancer nursing organisations
producing reports, which Ms Handel refers to as her bible. ‘I take it everywhere with me.’ She says skills required include respect and putting people at ease: ‘It is also useful having a clinical background because you understand the issues facing staff and understand how hospitals work and what good looks like.’ For Ms Handel, the most rewarding aspect is making a difference to patient care. ‘If I didn’t think I was having an impact on care, I would not do
and other professionals involved in the care of haematology patients. HNHCP is dedicated to sharing developments in haematology and nursing by developing educational programmes research and collaborative working with related associations. www.hemcare.org Staffing levels A Guide to Care Contact Time has been issued by England’s chief nursing officer Jane Cummings. Aimed at providers and commissioners, it includes toolkits to support providers in making decisions to secure safe staffing care and recommends reviewing the contact time staff spend with patients. The guide encourages commissioners and providers to assure themselves that there is sufficient staff capacity and capability to meet appropriate outcomes and quality standards. tinyurl.com/NSCCTNHSE
64 january 28 ::from vol 29 no 22 ::by2015 STANDARD Downloaded RCNi.com ${individualUser.displayName} on Nov 26, 2015. For personal use only. NoNURSING other uses without permission. Copyright © 2015 RCNi Ltd. All rights reserved.
CAREERS
RESOURCES
Liz Charalambous explains why she continues to study
CQC secondments www.cqcjobs.co.uk/join.php NHS clinical audit tinyurl.com/Clinaudit
Benefits of higher learning
the job,’ she says. ‘My passion for quality care is even greater now than when I was a staff nurse.’ While inspections in the acute sector continue, a similar regime is now being introduced in mental health and community services. To meet its commitments, the commission recently offered two-year secondments to clinical staff such as nurses around band 7 or equivalent.
Secondments
CQC deputy chief inspector of hospitals Ellen Armistead, also a nurse, explains: ‘Secondments offer people an opportunity to get a flavour of life inside the CQC, to understand our role and inspections and how we learn from good examples. ‘At the same time, we get people who have relevant NHS experience and who can use their clinical perspective in our inspection teams. ‘We need people with a host of skills, such as audit and risk management skills, and to be committed to holding providers to account’ NS Tamsin Newton Snow is a freelance journalist
Having been a nurse for 30 years, while studying for a degree through the Open University, I am now studying for an MSc and have my sights set firmly on a doctorate. The reason I continue to study is simple: I want to be the best nurse I can possibly be. I want information to help the patients in my care and I aspire to deliver it through change. My ward manager encouraged me to apply to my trust’s Learning through Education fund. I am lucky in that I work for a visionary leader who role models good practice and encourages others to aspire to excellence. As a result of the course, the changes in myself (see box) are reflected in my practice. I now see nursing through a political, socio-economic and cultural lens. I reflect on incidents and, instead of blaming myself for shortcomings in our service, I search for solutions to problems. For example, chiropody – once the mainstay of good older people’s care – is no longer available in hospitals, so nurses now provide this service. Another example was our need for extra people to interact with patients to prevent delirium. In collaboration with volunteer services at Nottingham RESOURCES Master’s degree in advanced nursing at the University of Nottingham tinyurl.com/UoNMSc Postgraduate education funding tinyurl.com/HEECAT
Minor injuries Assessment and management of minor injuries is a two-day workshop for CONFERENCES nurses and other professionals who need to develop look and feel techniques for assessing commonly presented minor injuries in adults. The course includes clinical history-taking and recording; developing confidence in decision making and current patient management rationales, and applying them in the clinical setting. Sessions will be held in Birmingham on March 18-20; in London at on June 10-12; and in Manchester on July 13-15. tinyurl.com/n2swm7k Health technologies Westminster Health Forum will hold a seminar on the future for health technologies: innovation, funding and regulation on March 18 in central London.
My studies have helped me to: Stretch and challenge my intellect. Encourage discussion with others, including international students and pioneering thinkers. Find explanations through theories and models for what I previously took for granted. Question and search for explanations. Find new ways to benefit patients. University Hospital Trust, we have recruited a thriving team of people who donate their time generously. Balancing study, work and a personal life is a challenge with much burning of midnight oil to complete assignments. For me, the positives well outweigh the negatives; the rosy glow I feel when I pass an assignment spurs me on to the next. For anyone considering studying for a master’s degree, I would heartily recommend it NS Liz Charalambous (pictured) is a staff nurse at the Queen’s Medical Centre, Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust, and is studying for an MSc in advanced nursing at the University of Nottingham
Discussion will be informed by case studies in monitoring long-term conditions; the use of apps in improving health outcomes; wearable technology; innovation in diagnostics; and telehealth and telecare. www.westminsterhealth forum.co.uk Research conference The 2015 RCN International Nursing Research Conference and Exhibition will be held on April 20-22 at the East Midlands Conference Centre in Nottingham. Abstracts are invited on topics such as innovations in methodology, organisational interventions and advancing the understanding of patient or user experience, and informing debate in health policy or public health. The deadline for abstract submission is midnight January 30. tinyurl.com/mxz2547
NURSING january :: vol uses 29 no 22 :: permission. 2015 65 DownloadedSTANDARD from RCNi.com by ${individualUser.displayName} on Nov 26, 2015. For personal use only. 28 No other without Copyright © 2015 RCNi Ltd. All rights reserved.
NOTICE BOARD
Nurse turned inspector at the Care Quality Commission (CQC) Kim Handel has a busy schedule. Recently, she joined a team of up to 40 people for a four-day assessment of a major NHS acute trust before visiting a community hospital to check agreed improvements and then on to an inspection at a local ambulance trust. Ms Handel, who joined the CQC as an inspector two years ago, describes the role as ‘fascinating’. ‘After more than 30 years working in NHS and independent hospitals, I decided I wanted a change,’ she says. ‘This is such a varied role.’ The former hospital chief nurse is one of about 2,300 CQC staff, of whom 210 are in the commission’s hospitals sector. She oversees a portfolio of around 30 NHS acute and community trusts, private hospitals and clinics in Hertfordshire and the West Midlands. Inspections, producing reports and undertaking follow-up visits take up most of her time, but Ms Handel also manages safeguarding issues and calls
DAVID GEE
Nurse Kim Handel spoke to Tamsin Newton Snow about her fascinating and varied role as an inspector with the Care Quality Commission
Kim Handel: skills of an inspector include respect and the ability to put people at ease
from the public relating to services on her patch. The CQC is undertaking the most in-depth round of inspections ever carried out in English hospitals. Around 70 acute trusts have been assessed and rated by inspection teams made up of between 20 to 40 people, with the remaining 92 to be inspected by the end of this year. Ms Handel leads a team looking at one of eight services. Inspectors use a template for carrying out inspections and
Practice development The Foundation of Nursing Studies will hold a practice development school from April 13-17 at Herstmonceux Castle in Hailsham, East Sussex. Fostering a Culture of Effectiveness through Practice is designed for health and social care practitioners who are influential in the transformation of care and services so that they are person-centred, safe and effective. www.fons.org Haematology The Haematology Nurses and Healthcare Professionals Group (HNHCP) has been established to support nurses and other healthcare professionals working in haematology. Members include professionals from centres and institutions caring for patients with haematological disorders, cancer nursing organisations
producing reports, which Ms Handel refers to as her bible. ‘I take it everywhere with me.’ She says skills required include respect and putting people at ease: ‘It is also useful having a clinical background because you understand the issues facing staff and understand how hospitals work and what good looks like.’ For Ms Handel, the most rewarding aspect is making a difference to patient care. ‘If I didn’t think I was having an impact on care, I would not do
and other professionals involved in the care of haematology patients. HNHCP is dedicated to sharing developments in haematology and nursing by developing educational programmes research and collaborative working with related associations. www.hemcare.org Staffing levels A Guide to Care Contact Time has been issued by England’s chief nursing officer Jane Cummings. Aimed at providers and commissioners, it includes toolkits to support providers in making decisions to secure safe staffing care and recommends reviewing the contact time staff spend with patients. The guide encourages commissioners and providers to assure themselves that there is sufficient staff capacity and capability to meet appropriate outcomes and quality standards. tinyurl.com/NSCCTNHSE
64 january 28 ::from vol 29 no 22 ::by2015 STANDARD Downloaded RCNi.com ${individualUser.displayName} on Nov 26, 2015. For personal use only. NoNURSING other uses without permission. Copyright © 2015 RCNi Ltd. All rights reserved.
CAREERS
RESOURCES
Liz Charalambous explains why she continues to study
CQC secondments www.cqcjobs.co.uk/join.php NHS clinical audit tinyurl.com/Clinaudit
Benefits of higher learning
the job,’ she says. ‘My passion for quality care is even greater now than when I was a staff nurse.’ While inspections in the acute sector continue, a similar regime is now being introduced in mental health and community services. To meet its commitments, the commission recently offered two-year secondments to clinical staff such as nurses around band 7 or equivalent.
Secondments
CQC deputy chief inspector of hospitals Ellen Armistead, also a nurse, explains: ‘Secondments offer people an opportunity to get a flavour of life inside the CQC, to understand our role and inspections and how we learn from good examples. ‘At the same time, we get people who have relevant NHS experience and who can use their clinical perspective in our inspection teams. ‘We need people with a host of skills, such as audit and risk management skills, and to be committed to holding providers to account’ NS Tamsin Newton Snow is a freelance journalist
Having been a nurse for 30 years, while studying for a degree through the Open University, I am now studying for an MSc and have my sights set firmly on a doctorate. The reason I continue to study is simple: I want to be the best nurse I can possibly be. I want information to help the patients in my care and I aspire to deliver it through change. My ward manager encouraged me to apply to my trust’s Learning through Education fund. I am lucky in that I work for a visionary leader who role models good practice and encourages others to aspire to excellence. As a result of the course, the changes in myself (see box) are reflected in my practice. I now see nursing through a political, socio-economic and cultural lens. I reflect on incidents and, instead of blaming myself for shortcomings in our service, I search for solutions to problems. For example, chiropody – once the mainstay of good older people’s care – is no longer available in hospitals, so nurses now provide this service. Another example was our need for extra people to interact with patients to prevent delirium. In collaboration with volunteer services at Nottingham RESOURCES Master’s degree in advanced nursing at the University of Nottingham tinyurl.com/UoNMSc Postgraduate education funding tinyurl.com/HEECAT
Minor injuries Assessment and management of minor injuries is a two-day workshop for CONFERENCES nurses and other professionals who need to develop look and feel techniques for assessing commonly presented minor injuries in adults. The course includes clinical history-taking and recording; developing confidence in decision making and current patient management rationales, and applying them in the clinical setting. Sessions will be held in Birmingham on March 18-20; in London at on June 10-12; and in Manchester on July 13-15. tinyurl.com/n2swm7k Health technologies Westminster Health Forum will hold a seminar on the future for health technologies: innovation, funding and regulation on March 18 in central London.
My studies have helped me to: Stretch and challenge my intellect. Encourage discussion with others, including international students and pioneering thinkers. Find explanations through theories and models for what I previously took for granted. Question and search for explanations. Find new ways to benefit patients. University Hospital Trust, we have recruited a thriving team of people who donate their time generously. Balancing study, work and a personal life is a challenge with much burning of midnight oil to complete assignments. For me, the positives well outweigh the negatives; the rosy glow I feel when I pass an assignment spurs me on to the next. For anyone considering studying for a master’s degree, I would heartily recommend it NS Liz Charalambous (pictured) is a staff nurse at the Queen’s Medical Centre, Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust, and is studying for an MSc in advanced nursing at the University of Nottingham
Discussion will be informed by case studies in monitoring long-term conditions; the use of apps in improving health outcomes; wearable technology; innovation in diagnostics; and telehealth and telecare. www.westminsterhealth forum.co.uk Research conference The 2015 RCN International Nursing Research Conference and Exhibition will be held on April 20-22 at the East Midlands Conference Centre in Nottingham. Abstracts are invited on topics such as innovations in methodology, organisational interventions and advancing the understanding of patient or user experience, and informing debate in health policy or public health. The deadline for abstract submission is midnight January 30. tinyurl.com/mxz2547
NURSING january :: vol uses 29 no 22 :: permission. 2015 65 DownloadedSTANDARD from RCNi.com by ${individualUser.displayName} on Nov 26, 2015. For personal use only. 28 No other without Copyright © 2015 RCNi Ltd. All rights reserved.
