Shropshire Star

New information boards aim to improve patient care at Shropshire's hospitals

Innovative new information boards designed to help patients get better care while at hospital are being trialled in Shropshire.

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Staff Nurse Andre Goncalves with his new board

The "about me" boards are placed over the patient's bed, and includes information about what they prefer to be called, who their friends and family are, whether they wear glasses or hearing aids and if they have any medical or food allergies.

The boards are the idea of ITU staff nurse Andre Goncalves, who works at Princess Royal Hospital, and ITU staff nurse Heather Rushworth, who works at Royal Shrewsbury Hospital.

Andre said: “The ‘about me’ board is the result of the joint effort of members of the ITU team with the main goal of improving communication and making sure that every team member has a quick access to the basic, but very important information about the patient that they are caring for.

"We hope that this will make communication easier and more effective across the whole team, with an important impact in the quality of care provided.”

Hannah O’Mahoney Magee, PRH ITU ward manager, said the boards were already proving to be a success – with the possibility that they could be rolled out further across the two hospitals.

She said: “The boards are a fantastic idea – and demonstrate just how strong our cross-site working is – with all staff working hard to improve patient care.

"As well as an effective tool for understanding the needs of the patient, the boards are important for safety as they ensure that all the domains involved in patient care have been addressed.

“They are also important for the patient’s family as they visibly demonstrate that their relative is being cared for and their individual needs are being looked after.”

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