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The University of Southampton
Medical Devices and Vulnerable Skin Network

Cornwall Partnership NHS Foundation Trust and MDVSN Win Prestigious Health Foundation Award for Improving Health Care

Published: 10 January 2018
Health Foundation Scaling Up
Prof Dan Bader, Nicci Aylward-Wotton, Nurse Consultant for Tissue Viability and Dr Peter Worsley

Cornwall Partnership NHS Foundation Trust, has been selected by the Health Foundation, an independent charity, to be part of a £3.5 million improvement programme. The Scaling Up Improvement Programme supports seven projects in the UK to take their proven health care interventions and approaches and make them work at larger scale to have a positive impact on patient outcomes. The programme will run for two and a half years and each project will receive up to £0.5 million of funding to put their project into practice and evaluate it.

The initiative from Cornwall Partnership NHS Foundation Trust recognises that many people with high levels of frailty and underlying health conditions develop pressure ulcers and these can be difficult to manage in community settings without access to specialist support.

The NHS, as a whole, spends up to £4billion per year on the treatment of pressure ulcers.  This project will explore whether monitoring and adjusting pressures using mattress and chair sensors in patient homes, and in residential and nursing homes, can identify hotspots of pressure and enable patients to reduce their likelihood of pressure damage.

Cornwall Partnership NHS Foundation Trust will lead the project and will work in partnership with a wide range of organisations to deliver the project, including; Southampton, Torbay and Plymouth NHS Community Trusts, University of Southampton and University of Plymouth.

Nicci Aylward-Wotton, Tissue Viability Nurse Consultant at Cornwall Partnership NHS Foundation Trust said, “I’m exceptionally proud of what we’ve achieved and would like to say a very special thank you to my wonderful team, our partner  organisations, the Universities of Plymouth and Southampton and CEDAR for supporting us with the application.

“This work will help everyone involved to look at how we can support and help patient care with preventing pressure ulcers in the community, with independent valuation partners (CEDAR) who will look to assess our levels of success.”

Nicci added, “This will make a huge difference to patient care in Cornwall, Southampton, Torbay and Plymouth Community Trusts.”

Sarah Henderson, Associate Director from the Health Foundation said: “We are very excited to support seven outstanding project teams who have been selected because of their expertise in scaling complex improvement projects, and their ambition to achieve impact by improving care for patients.

Working together, as part of the Scaling Up programme, we aim to make sustained improvements to health care by testing out proven interventions at a scale. We hope to see the interventions being widely adopted across the UK.”

 

 

Notes for editors

The Health Foundation is an independent charity committed to bringing about better health and health care for people in the UK.

Our aim is a healthier population, supported by high quality health care that can be equitably accessed. We learn what works to make people’s lives healthier and improve the health care system. From giving grants to those working at the front line to carrying out research and policy analysis, we shine a light on how to make successful change happen.

We make links between the knowledge we gain from working with those delivering health and health care and our research and analysis. Our aspiration is to create a virtuous circle, using what we know works on the ground to inform effective policymaking and vice versa.

We believe good health and health care are key to a flourishing society. Through sharing what we learn, collaborating with others and building people’s skills and knowledge, we aim to make a difference and contribute to a healthier population.

Health Foundation

 

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