Revalidation Find out more at: revalidation.nursingstandard.com
should lead to better patient care and effective teamwork. During handover, we share ideas about how to care for individual patients. For example, we may have discovered different things that the patient responds to, such as what they like to eat. Discussion of a critical event, such as cardiac arrest, can be therapeutic, particularly if the care attempt is unsuccessful. However, nurses will experience many less dramatic incidents during shifts. The key to improving care will be to discover a means of discussing these incidents, examining them in more detail and learning from them. How is this relevant to the Code? Select one or more themes: Prioritise people, Practise effectively, Preserve safety, Promote professionalism and trust Promoting professionalism and trust is one of the themes of The Code. Revalidation aims to improve public protection and professional standards by encouraging a culture of reflection and improvement, while strengthening professionalism through ongoing reflection. A practitioner must produce a minimum of five written reflective accounts during each three-year re-registration period as a prerequisite for revalidation. Sue Wrigglesworth is a staff nurse at University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust in Birmingham
nursingstandard.com
PATIENT VIEW
Nurse arranged everything so that I got the specialist care I needed
Angela Whiting believes when staff nurse Elizabeth Mullis set up her transfer to a burns unit, she may have saved her life Early this year, I dropped a pan of boiling, starchy water on my foot and was admitted to my local hospital. However, the severity of the burn – grade 3 – was not recognised for more than a week. Thankfully, the team at the hospital sent pictures of the wound to the burns unit at Chelsea & Westminster Hospital in London, which were picked up by staff nurse Elizabeth Mullis. She tried to locate me at my local hospital but could not find my details in the system.
Immediate action
After trawling through the correspondence she had, including emails, she eventually found a phone number and called it. It happened to be mine. The call came at a difficult time. I was upset, in pain and feeling sick. I didn’t know what was happening with my care, but after speaking to me, Liz immediately took action by calling the nurses’ station at my hospital. She arranged for me to be transferred to her unit at the Chelsea & Westminster straight away. When I arrived, there was a team of people waiting for me, and within 45 minutes they had a plan in place. I had developed a serious infection in my foot, leg and also my arm. My leg was bandaged up to my thigh because the infection had spread. My thoughts were all over the place, but Liz went the extra mile to talk me through exactly what was
Angela Whiting says she cannot thank the Chelsea &Westminster staff enough
happening and what treatment I would need. Most importantly, she reassured me that I was in the right place and that the team would get me well again.
Exceptional care
My care at the Chelsea & Westminster Hospital was exceptional, from the catering staff through to the nursing staff and consultants. I can’t thank them enough, but Liz stands out. She may have saved my life by going out of her way to arrange my transfer. I am still receiving treatment at the hospital, but without her intervention the situation could have been so much worse.
Do you know a nurse who has made a positive difference to a patient’s life? Share your story with Nursing Standard by emailing [email protected]
volume 31 number 8 / 19 October 2016 / 73
should lead to better patient care and effective teamwork. During handover, we share ideas about how to care for individual patients. For example, we may have discovered different things that the patient responds to, such as what they like to eat. Discussion of a critical event, such as cardiac arrest, can be therapeutic, particularly if the care attempt is unsuccessful. However, nurses will experience many less dramatic incidents during shifts. The key to improving care will be to discover a means of discussing these incidents, examining them in more detail and learning from them. How is this relevant to the Code? Select one or more themes: Prioritise people, Practise effectively, Preserve safety, Promote professionalism and trust Promoting professionalism and trust is one of the themes of The Code. Revalidation aims to improve public protection and professional standards by encouraging a culture of reflection and improvement, while strengthening professionalism through ongoing reflection. A practitioner must produce a minimum of five written reflective accounts during each three-year re-registration period as a prerequisite for revalidation. Sue Wrigglesworth is a staff nurse at University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust in Birmingham
nursingstandard.com
PATIENT VIEW
Nurse arranged everything so that I got the specialist care I needed
Angela Whiting believes when staff nurse Elizabeth Mullis set up her transfer to a burns unit, she may have saved her life Early this year, I dropped a pan of boiling, starchy water on my foot and was admitted to my local hospital. However, the severity of the burn – grade 3 – was not recognised for more than a week. Thankfully, the team at the hospital sent pictures of the wound to the burns unit at Chelsea & Westminster Hospital in London, which were picked up by staff nurse Elizabeth Mullis. She tried to locate me at my local hospital but could not find my details in the system.
Immediate action
After trawling through the correspondence she had, including emails, she eventually found a phone number and called it. It happened to be mine. The call came at a difficult time. I was upset, in pain and feeling sick. I didn’t know what was happening with my care, but after speaking to me, Liz immediately took action by calling the nurses’ station at my hospital. She arranged for me to be transferred to her unit at the Chelsea & Westminster straight away. When I arrived, there was a team of people waiting for me, and within 45 minutes they had a plan in place. I had developed a serious infection in my foot, leg and also my arm. My leg was bandaged up to my thigh because the infection had spread. My thoughts were all over the place, but Liz went the extra mile to talk me through exactly what was
Angela Whiting says she cannot thank the Chelsea &Westminster staff enough
happening and what treatment I would need. Most importantly, she reassured me that I was in the right place and that the team would get me well again.
Exceptional care
My care at the Chelsea & Westminster Hospital was exceptional, from the catering staff through to the nursing staff and consultants. I can’t thank them enough, but Liz stands out. She may have saved my life by going out of her way to arrange my transfer. I am still receiving treatment at the hospital, but without her intervention the situation could have been so much worse.
Do you know a nurse who has made a positive difference to a patient’s life? Share your story with Nursing Standard by emailing [email protected]
volume 31 number 8 / 19 October 2016 / 73
