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Drug Management of Violence and Aggression and Rapid Tranquilisation Policy (P114)

The aim of this policy is to support practitioner’s decision making, when considering or using medication by the parenteral route, when the use of oral medication is not possible or appropriate and urgent sedation with medication is required. NICE Guidance NG10 (2015)

The Use of Force, Restraint Reduction and the Management of Violence and Aggression (P58)

The policy provides a framework for support staff who work across Learning Disability Services (LD) and Older Peoples Mental Health Services (OPMH), in responding to situations that they face with regards to Behaviours that Challenge and in particular, violence and aggression (both where they can plan and where an incident in unforeseen).

HRP19 Management of Change Manager's Guide - Appendix 4 Employee Briefing Paper.docx

HRP19 Management of Change Manager's Guide - Appendix 5 Next Steps and Formal Consultation Invite Letter.docx

Administration of Insulin Injection Policy and Standard Operating Procedure (P4)

There are a growing number of people who, because of disability, increasing age or infirmity, are unable to administer their own insulin and will need support. This guideline aims to promote standardisation and safety of insulin administration within Derbyshire Community Health Services (DCHS NHS FT). This document aligns with the Professional Guidance on the Administration of Medicines in Healthcare Settings (Royal Pharmaceutical Society 2019). Patient centred care based upon different ways of working underpins this policy and procedure as identified within the NHS Plan (DH 2000), the NSF for Older People (DH 2001), Making a Difference (DH 2001) and the NSF for Diabetes (DH 2002). UK Injection technique Recommendations have been considered alongside the need to consider safer sharps for staff (Forum for Injection Technique 2016). Underpinning the guidance are the most recent NICE and Derbyshire guidance for the management of diabetes (Joint Area Prescribing Committee 2018 NICE 2015) and National Patient Safety Alert (NPSA), ‘Risk of severe harm and death due to withdrawing insulin from pen devices,’ 16 November 2016.

Incident Reporting Policy (P80)

Derbyshire Community Health Services (DCHS) NHS Foundation Trust is committed to ensuring the safety of patients, staff, visitors, and contractors alike. DCHS aspires to provide a Zero Harm environment. The policy considers the recommendations of the Department of Health publications: An Organisation with a Memory, Building a Safer NHS, Doing less Harm and the former National Patient Safety Agency (NPSA) publication Building a memory: preventing harm, reducing risks and improving patient safety, Berwick report 2013 and the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 and subsequent subsidiary reports. The reporting, management and investigation of adverse incidents are fundamental elements of risk management. Sharing the learning from adverse incidents (including near misses) enables the organisation to implement changes to practice, processes, and systems so that the risk of harm is reduced. In addition to the human costs, if incidents are not properly managed, they may result in a loss of public confidence in the organisation and a loss of assets.

Recognition of Patient Deterioration (Adults) Policy (P83)

The aim of this policy is to set the minimum standard and frequency for monitoring and recording adult patients’ vital signs in their own home, Minor Injuries Units, outpatient podiatric surgery and community hospital wards. The mismanagement of deterioration is a common area of systemic failure in avoidable patient death across the NHS (NHS Improvement, 2016, Hogan et al, 2012) and poor communication is a leading cause of adverse events in healthcare. The National Early Warning Score (NEWS) offers a common language to describe and communicate a patient’s acute illness severity by all healthcare professionals in all settings and is central to establishing a national pathway for improving the management of deterioration and sepsis (Inada-Kim and Nsutebu, 2018). This policy aims to increase survival among acutely unwell and deteriorating patients

Requesting and Managing Pathology Results within DCHS Community Hospital Wards SOP (S98)

The purpose of this Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) is to outline the steps required to effectively manage the requesting, receiving, filing and actioning of all pathology results by either an electronic process or by a relevant paper-based system. Utilising an electronic system (such as ICE) enables pathology requests to be requested, reviewed and actioned electronically via the electronic patient record within TPP SystmOne. There are an estimated 1.12 billion pathology tests undertaken each year in England (NHS England, 2020) It is imperative a record of all pathology samples is accurately maintained to avoid patient harm and improve patient outcomes (WHO, 2021). The Care Quality Commission (2021) inspects the management of test results to ensure processes are robust, practice is safe and care is effective.

SOP for DCHS Foot Dressing Clinic (S149)

The DCHS Foot Dressing Clinic Standard Operating Procedure has been developed to support the administration of the clinics and the staff to facilitate equitable, safe, and effective management of all patients coming into this service.

Enhanced Observation Policy (P61)

The purpose of this policy is to describe how supportive observations and engagement maximise people’s safety, minimise risk and initiate and build supportive therapeutic relationships. During times of increased distress or risk, a person may require a temporary period of an enhanced level of supportive engagement to maintain safety for him/her or others while the level of distress or risk is reduced. This will be achieved by establishing a good rapport with the person, promoting their coping skills and being aware of their individual needs/reasonable adjustments. This policy sets out evidence-based practice for individual clinicians, teams and services regarding the engagement and observations of patients being cared for in DCHS inpatient Older People Mental Health and Learning Disability Services only. Observation is seen as an integral part of person-centred treatment planning and contributes to the management and reduction of risk. All forms of observation however will have implications for the patients’ privacy and dignity. The level of observation for each person should be justified as reasonable and proportionate to the degree of risk they pose to either themselves or others and to enable their care needs to be safely met. The aim of The Policy is to provides clear evidence-based guidance for the observation of patients within Older People’s Mental Health and the Learning Disability Service. All persons cared for in Older People’s Mental Health and Learning disability clinical areas are observed by the staff.