A hospice pilot scheme that halved incidences of bed sores for patients and a bespoke Monopoly board that proved a major fundraising asset for one hospice are among the winners of the Hospice UK awards this year.
Innovation in Care Award: Marie Curie Hospice, Newcastle Upon Tyne
Preventing pressure sores for patients spending long periods in bed has long been an ongoing challenge for nurses in all care settings. At a conference last year staff at the Marie Curie Hospice in Newcastle discovered a new scanner capable of detecting tissue damage deep beneath the skin surface days before it was visible. They approached the company that produced it and worked with them to develop a hospice pilot scheme using this technology.
Staff were able to spot warning signs of pressure damage early on and introduce measures to help prevent these such as the introduction of pressure- relieving mattresses or by applying barrier creams.
As a result of the pilot, Marie Curie’s staff managed to achieve a 47 per cent reduction in pressures sores among patients over a six-month period. They are now sharing their approach and learnings with other hospices.
Innovation in Income Generation Award: North Devon Hospice
Keen to diversify its income and also raise its public profile, North Devon Hospice spotted that Hasbro- makers of the iconic Monopoly game – produces bespoke location boards. They approached the company and developed the first ever North Devon Monopoly board, joining Abu Dhabi, Boston and Bahrain as the bespoke boards for 2017/ 2018.
The hospice approached businesses and other organisations, asking them to pay to feature on the 32 square-board and they all agreed. The bespoke board provided North Devon Hospice with a fantastic platform to engage with local businesses in a different way.It also provided a highly visible platform to promote the hospice’s work. They sold all 4,000 boxes of the boards through the hospice’s shops within a year, generating £84K.
The new Dying Matters Award attracted a particularly strong field of entries. The winner was Bolton Hospice who hosted a free course called Supporting Families and Children through Loss, Grief and Bereavement for staff in local schools and nurseries during Dying Matters Awareness Week 2018. The course has enabled both school staff to learn how they can support the children and families they work with during bereavement and also the hospice to improve the experience of children and families dealing with bereavement in Bolton.
The full list of award winners is as follows:
- Innovation in Care Award: Marie Curie Hospice, Newcastle Upon Tyne
- Innovation in Income Generation Award: North Devon Hospice
- Innovation in Tackling Inequalities Award: St Helena Hospice and Macmillan Cancer Support Safe Harbour Project
- Innovation in Partnership Working Award: Martin House Hospice Care for Children and Young People
- Dying Matters Award: Bolton Hospice
- Towergate Hospice Team of the Year Award: Patches Project Team, St Luke’s Hospice, Plymouth
- Volunteer of the Year 2018 Award: Douglas Cameron, Volunteer in IT & Activities at Rachael House Hospice, Children’s Hospices Across Scotland (CHAS)
- Volunteer Gardener of the Year 2018 Award: Derek James Volunteer Gardener, Richard House Children’s Hospice
More information about all the award winners can be found here on the Hospice UK website.
Commenting on the awards, Tracey Bleakley, Chief Executive of Hospice UK, said:
“Our awards celebrate the amazing people and innovative projects that have made such a big difference to the support provided by hospice and palliative care providers to people with life-limiting conditions.
“This year we have introduced several new awards which reflect Hospice UK’s aims of showcasing good practice and also our strategic goals. These include our work to encourage conversations about dying and grief through the Dying Matters campaign.
“We are deeply grateful to the National Garden Scheme for its longstanding support for our awards and, as our largest funder, for many other aspects of Hospice UK’s work.”
George Plumptre, Chief of the National Garden Scheme, added:
“Everyone at the National Garden Scheme is proud to work with Hospice UK and support their fantastic leadership of the hospice movement.
“We are delighted to continue our longstanding support for these inspirational awards and offer our congratulations to all the winners for their impressive contribution to hospice and palliative care.”
At the awards ceremony Hospice UK is introducing a new award in honour of its outgoing Chair Lord Howard of Lympne. The award will recognise collaboration between hospices and hospitals.
Lord Howard is retiring from his role at the national hospice and palliative care charity after eight years leading its board of trustees. Hospice UK announced in September that ITV Political Editor Robert Peston will be its new Chair- he takes up the role from this month.
For more information visit Hospice UK National Conference 2018
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